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Filed under: China, Russia | Tagged: Andrei Martyanov, British M1, CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS, Economy of Resistance., Energy and food crisis, G7, Huntington, Real economy, Ruble vs Dollar, Russian Defense Ministry MOD, Switzerland | Comments Off on Andrei Martyanov: Math of Geopolitics, CINC.
March 07, 2022
Iran hasn’t invaded a country in over 200 years, and Iranians boast of this fact often, as they should. However, if Iran invaded a country – and of course they will not – I think everyone would agree they should brace themselves for years of Iranian seriousness, self-sacrifice and determination. If the Iranian people agreed war was the only option, then woe betide the aggressor.
I hold Russia to a similar expectation.
Russia doesn’t have revolutionary zeal anymore, that’s true – so why?
Because, like Iran, they have been targeted by the West for years with campaigns based around hate, derision, insults, threats and refusals to believe in mutually-beneficial compromise much less peaceful co-existence. What the West has been waiting for (and what they often try to provoke) is one false step and – BAM!
Maybe their invasion of Ukraine is that false step?
Missing from Western media coverage is the crucial fact that there have been 14,000 deaths in Donetsk and Luhansk since 2014. There’s a reason the war has a 70% approval rating in Russia – they feel it’s already been going on for nearly a decade and that this is the only way to stop it.
Of course, the average Westerner would be apoplectic at such an analysis. The world’s foremost lovers of a free press, allegedly, are suppressing such utterances at an appalling rate. They would call me a Nazi… if only the Russians hadn’t beaten them to it; if only Russians didn’t understandably accuse far-right, Western backed paramilitaries which target ethnic Russians as being so very similar to the Russophobia of Germanic culture nearly a century ago. For Westerners Nazis relate only to Jews and not to 25 million martyred Russians but… well, addressing that enormous misunderstanding is for another column.
Back to Russia and Iran: What’s undebatable is that Russia has obviously given up waiting on Ukraine to implement the peace process. The Minsk Protocol, like the JCPOA for Iran, has thus far been empty promises, or a stalling tactic, or simply fodder to fuel Western Russophobic propaganda, or all three. “What were talks for, then?” This has been said ad nauseam in both Iran and Russia for years – now we are all nauseous at continued suffering in Ukraine.
There’s so much talk these days that “Russia is not Iran”. Really? Russia has the world’s 11th-biggest economy, while Iran is at number 17 – this is an enormous difference which renders comparisons useless?
What’s useless is reading assessments from columnists from The New York Times: calling Russia the “Upper Volta with nuclear weapons,” or saying it isn’t “even a medium-size power”. Such are the unrealistic and outdated perceptions of a country which believes it is still the world’s only superpower and by a huge margin, even.
It’s also outdated to call both countries mere “gas stations” – these are regional economic powerhouses, and regional powerhouses now matter because the United States’ elite shot their country in the foot with Iraq, Afghanistan, the Great Recession, Quantitive Easing, Zero-Interest Rate Policies, etc.
“Russia is not Iran” in the sense that its own version of the Iranian “resistance economy” – and this is essentially what they seem poised to actually implement in response to Western sanctions – should thrive much more than Iran’s because the sanctions are so much less: Sanctions which don’t prohibit oil sales, or the ability to export oil (like insuring tankers), or all Russian banks – why couldn’t Russia work around that?
It’s not “$0 in oil sales” like the West’s failed aim for Iran, but more like “15% less in oil sales” for Russia.
If Russia is really ready to move away from dealing with the West on terms of anything other than equality then they have only one contemporary roadmap and inspiration: Iran. If Russia really does what they are warning then such a move would be another proof of the historical importance of the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979, whose primary motto was “Neither East nor West but the Islamic Republic”.
Iran had that prideful motto of self-determination even though – and this is definitely accurate – (1979) Iran was not (2022) Russia. The shah had kept Iran in a poor and backwards condition; when the West (and the USSR, in fact) pushed Iraq to invade Iran in 1980 Iran was absolutely nowhere ready to fight; Iran had no allies, whereas Russia has an “no limits” friendship with a mighty China. Iran had an uphill fight and they started at the very bottom – Russia has an uphill fight and they a view of the horizon isn’t far off.
The success of Iran today can’t be debated – if the West actually re-signs the JCPOA this week it will be because they totally or almost totally accepted Iran’s terms.
If the West doesn’t sign? Well, Russia can ask Iran for advice, and Iran can ask Russia to progress their friendship to one with “no limits” – i.e. put the finishing touches on the 20-year cooperation agreement which seemingly certain to get finalised. I will soon publish a comprehensive article on the “geopolitical game-changer” Chalous gas field which the two nations will exploit.
Russians can take comfort that economic sanctions of this scale can only be enacted once, and that they can do much of what the West says only they can provide if Russians simply put their mind to it. Russia can simply ask around Iran: The sanctions have been turned into a huge boon, ultimately provoking a necessary and irreplaceable windfall of Iranian know-how, capabilities and resilience.
Iran had that prideful motto and the courage to implement it, and Russia has many reasons – reasons both historical and current – to also insist that they don’t need the US, EU, China, Japan or anyone but the unity of the Russian people to build a happy, thriving and peaceful nation.
But that Russia would even embark on such a campaign of resistance and independence – it’s the Iranian example they would be following, the judgment of history will say. This is not a statement of arrogance, but simply identifying a historical trend.
Russia might even do it better than Iran? Go with God – this is always the right move.
Militarily, this war seems to have been effectively over after the first day, when Russia destroyed all of the Ukraine’s air force, navy and air defences. It seems the only way Ukraine could win is by engaging in a multi-year guerrilla war – i.e. if Russia actually occupies Ukraine. Any foreign invasion is the cardinal sin of politics – Russia has to make a very strong case that its actions were the last resort, and it is making its case to a West with totally closed ears.
Iran is used to that as well.
“Russia is not Iran”, of course, but Russia can take a similar path thanks to Iran’s pioneering.
Filed under: American Empire, China, Germany, Russia, Russophobia, The Islamic Republic of Iran, War on Iran | Tagged: Anti-Russian sanctions, Donetsk, East vs West, Economy of Resistance., Iranophobia, JCPOA, Lugansk, Minsk Agreements, Ukraine War, War on Donbass | Comments Off on ‘Neither East nor West but the Russian Federation’? Russia considers Iran’s way
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طرح كلام رئيس الحكومة نجيب ميقاتي عن توصيف عبور قوافل المازوت الإيراني الذي استورده حزب الله وجلبه عبر الحدود السورية من دون الخضوع للإجراءات الحكومية، بالانتهاك للسيادة اللبنانية، سؤالاً عن مفهوم السيادة في قضية القوافل وعبورها، من الزاوية القانونية، وفقاً لمعايير القانون الدولي، لأنه ثمة ما هو معلوم من الزاوية السياسية بأن المقاومة لم تمتنع عن الالتزام بالخضوع للإجراءات الحكومية عبر الحدود، بل إن الحكومة هي التي فضلت عدم الانخراط في أي صلة بالقوافل تلافياً لإثارة أي التباس يوحي بشراكتها تفادياً لتعرضها للعقوبات الأميركية، كما هو معلوم أن كلام الرئيس ميقاتي عن انتهاك السيادة هو مقصد سياسي للقول إن الحكومة لم تكن على صلة، طلباً لذات الهدف، أي تفادي العقوبات الأميركية، ما يستدعي فحص ومعاينة المصطلح والتحقق من مدى ملاءمته للحالة التي نتحدث عنها توصيفاً واستنتاجاً.
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السؤال الأول الذي يطرحه الموضوع هو طالما أننا لا نتحدث عن عقوبات دولية تحظر المتاجرة مع إيران أو عبر سورية، فما هو التوصيف القانوني للعقوبات الأميركية في حالة لبنان، والجواب نجده في معاهدة لاهاي التي تتحدث عن مفهوم الاحتلال، بصفته تعبيراً يتجاوز مجرد الوجود العسكري الأجنبي الذي لا يصبح احتلالاً إلا بمقدار ما يفرض مشيئته على الأرض التي توصف محتلة بذات نسبة سيطرة المشيئة الأجنبية على إجراءاتها وتدخلها في تغيير وجهة ممارسة السيادة عليها، فيصير السؤال هو، لو لم تكن هناك عقوبات أميركية، هل كان لدى الحكومة اللبنانية مشكلة في أن تتعامل بصورة سيادية مع القوافل، وهل أن الذي استولى على الصلاحيات السيادية للدولة وحل مكانها هو الأميركي الذي استولى على سلطة السماح والمنع أم المقاومة التي كانت جاهزة للخضوع للإجراءات الحكومية، وهل أن الحكومة لديها قرار سيادي يحظر الاستيراد من إيران وعبر سورية خرقته المقاومة، أم أن المقاومة خرقت قواعد الاستيلاء الأميركي على هذا البعد من القرار السيادي للحكومة؟
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عندما نوصف السيطرة الأميركية على القرار السيادي للدولة، بالاحتلال لأنه يتولى ممارسة سلطة على أرض ليست أرضه ويفرض عليها تشريعات ليست نابعة من السلطات السيادية الشرعية، يصير السؤال القانوني هل أن الحكومة بمؤسساتها السيادية قامت بما يلزم لردع هذا الاحتلال وتحرير بلادها منه، أم أنها خضعت أو تغاضت أو استسلمت أو أعلنت عجزها، وفي كل هذه الحالات التي لحظها القانون الدولي هل يصبح الاحتلال شرعياً، ويصبح التسليم بمشيئة الاحتلال قانونياً، والجواب قاطع بالنفي في كل المداولات والمناقشات الخاصة بحالة الاحتلال التي ينتهي البحث فيها باعتبار المقاومة التي تنظمها الشعوب بوجه الاحتلال لإسقاط مشيئته هي الرد القانوني المشروع والسيادي.
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المقاومة المسلحة هي الجواب عندما يكون الاحتلال الذي يفرض المشيئة عسكرياً، وكسر المشيئة بذاتها بالتمرد على مندرجاتها كدعوة الشعب لرفض دفع الضرائب لسلطات الاحتلال هو نوع من المقاومة المشروعة، وفي حالة الاستيلاء الأميركي على السلطة السيادية للدولة في تحديد شروط المتاجرة والعبور، يكون كسر هذه المشيئة مقاومة مشروعة لا تقبل الاجتهاد، يزيده مشروعية تلكؤ الحكومة أو استسلامها أو تغاضيها أو عجزها أو خضوعها، بما يجعل التخلي الحكومي عن ممارسة الحق السيادي وارتضاء استيلاء الأجنبي عليه إطلاقاً لحق المقاومة المشروع باسترداد هذا الحق وفرض ممارسته من الشعب الذي تمثله المقاومة، كما في حال المقاومة العسكرية للاحتلال بالقوة العسكرية.
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وفقاً للمفهوم القانوني للسيادة، الذي ينتهك هو صاحب العقوبات الذي نصب نفسه صاحب المشيئة في فرض القوانين بدلاً من السلطات الوطنية المحلية، ليصير قوة احتلال وفقاً للتعريف القانوني، وليست المقاومة التي تمردت على الإجراءات التي فرضها الاستيلاء على القرار السيادي للدولة وتلكؤ الدولة في مواجهة هذا الاستيلاء وخضوعها للمشيئة الأجنبية، بل إن المقاومة تصبح قانونياً الممثل الشرعي للشعب في ممارسة السيادة في إسقاط الاحتلال بصفته مشيئة أجنبية تفرض تشريعاتها على الأرض الوطنية للدولة من خارج الممارسات السيادية لمؤسسات الدولة وتشريعاتها.
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Filed under: American Hegemony, Lebanon, Lebanon Islamic Resistance - Hezbollah, Syria, Uncategorized | Tagged: Economy of Resistance., International Law, Lebanon’s sovereignty, Najib Miqati, Nasser, US-Illegal Sanctions, USA Siege on Lebanon | Comments Off on حزن ميقاتي وأربعة أسئلة في القانون الدولي مفاهيم تحدّد مسألة السيادة في قوافل المازوت
The relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia has always been eye-catching for regional observers.
For decades observers have seen the Middle East through the prism of a Saudi-Iranian cold war. During the eight-year Iran-Iraq war, Gulf States particularly Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, lent more than $37bn to Saddam Hussein’s war effort.
According to a report by The Economist, this binary view of a “proxy war” has outlived its usefulness—because the Saudis lost. They failed to build a deep well of support in other Arab countries, settling for ineffective chequebook diplomacy with fickle politicians and warlords. Iran is undeniably the strongest foreign actor in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.
The Saudis still fight a rearguard action in Yemen, but their six-year war against the Yemeni Ansarullah revolutionaries, has been all in vain. Diplomats from the Gulf curtly describe several Arab states as “outside the Arab fold”, The Economist report explained.
It was a victory for Iran, not to mention, for the Axis of Resistance – which according to many includes resistance factions in Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen.
Lebanon, a small Middle Eastern country, has been an important outlet to Mediterranean for many Arab countries, notably Saudi Arabia. It is also home to the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.
In the past year, the country has been plagued with a suffocating economic crisis. Life in Lebanon is defined by petrol queues, lengthy blackouts and growing hunger. Lebanon’s bankruptcy stems from decades of misrule by the political class.
Hezbollah, founded in the 1980s, resisted the “Israeli” entity for its occupation of south Lebanon. Many Lebanese, regardless of sect or political persuasion, saw this as a legitimate struggle. The group’s popularity soared after the “Israeli” withdrawal in 2000, and stayed high even after war with the entity in 2006, which began with the capture of two “Israeli” soldiers. Arabs of all stripes cheered it for giving the “Israeli” entity a bloody nose, a feat no Arab state had managed in decades.
The Lebanese Resistance movement has not only protected Lebanon militarily, but it has attended to the medical and social needs of the all Lebanese.
Today, with the worsening of the economic situation in Lebanon, Hezbollah and its allies promoted the notion of a resistance economy in Lebanon. In April, Hezbollah trumpeted the Sajjad card, a ration-card scheme named after the 4th Shia Imam Ali ibn Hussein Zein al-Abidin [AS] that offers discounts to participants.
However, the indignities that define life in Lebanon have not spared anyone. Pharmacy shelves are bare: expats visiting for the summer stuff their suitcases with medicines, not only prescription pills but even basics like paracetamol that are unavailable in the country. Petrol stations, if not closed, have hours-long queues that snake for blocks.
The situation has been getting even worse no thanks to the Western siege, which Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has repeated in various speeches.
To the West, the “Israelis” and the locals, Sayyed Nasrallah offers more than empty words. In a televised speech during the 2006 “Israeli” aggression on Lebanon, the Resistance Leader told his viewers to look out to sea. Moments later a missile slammed into an “Israeli” destroyer off the coast, damaging the vessel and killing four sailors.
Sayyed Nasrallah supported peaceful anti-government demonstrations in 2019 and endorsed economic and political reform. However, His Eminence cautioned protesters from being infiltrated by a fifth column on the payroll of foreign embassies.
As for the economic crisis, Sayyed Nasrallah urged the Lebanese to bypass the Western siege and look east to Asian powers such as China, which stand ready to pour billions into Arab economies despite howls of outrage from the Americans.
Hezbollah remains the “Israeli” entity’s strongest Arab foe. Generals in Tel Aviv acknowledge that another war with the group would be painful. Aside from a few brief border skirmishes, however, it has not fought the entity in 15 years.
The Resistance Leader at various occasions reiterated the unconditioned Iranian support to the Hezbollah, Lebanon and the Lebanese. Most recently, His Eminence thanked Iran for its willingness to aid Lebanon with its oil and gas crisis. Sayyed Nasrallah further welcomed UNCONDITIONED aid from any country provided that it would ask nothing in return from Lebanon.
The first Iranian ship carrying fuel sailed last Thursday. It has been followed by a second ship days after… more ships are expected to come.
“A second ship will set sail in the next few days, and it will be followed by others,” Sayyed Nasrallah said. “We will continue this process as long as Lebanon needs it,” His Eminence said. “The aim is to help all Lebanese, [not just] Hezbollah supporters or the Shia.”
Filed under: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), IRAQ, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lebanon Islamic Resistance - Hezbollah, The Islamic Republic of Iran, War on Iran | Tagged: Economy of Resistance., Lebanon's East Options, Saddam, Saudi Zionist entity, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, The Axis of Resistance | Comments Off on Iran, Hezbollah and Lebanon – No Strings Attached!
22/06/2021
Iran’s president-elect will ‘Look East’ while seeking to exit ‘strategic patience’ when dealing with the US
By Pepe Escobar posted with permission and first posted at AsiaTimes
In his first press conference as President-Elect with 62% of the votes, Ebrahim Raeisi, facing a forest of microphones, came out swinging and leaving nothing to the imagination.
On the JCPOA, or Iran nuclear deal, the dossier that completely obsesses the West, Raeisi was clear:
– the US must immediately return to the JCPOA that Washington unilaterally violated, and lift all sanctions.
– The JCPOA negotiations in Vienna will proceed, but they do not condition anything in terms of Iran’s future.
– The Iranian ballistic missile program is absolutely non-negotiable in the framework of the JCPOA, and will not be curbed.
Asked by a Russian journalist whether he would meet President Biden if a deal was struck in Vienna and all sanctions lifted – a major “if” – Raeisi’s answer was a straight “No”.
It’s crucial to stress that Raeisi, in principle, favors the restoration of the JCPOA as its was signed in 2015 – following the guidelines of Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. But if the Vienna charade goes on forever and the Americans keep insisting on rewriting the deal towards other areas of Iranian national security, that’s a definitive red line.
Raeisi acknowledged the immense internal challenges he faces, in terms of putting the Iranian economy back on track, getting rid of the neoliberal drive of outgoing Team Rouhani, and fighting widespread corruption. The fact that election turnout was only 48.7%, compared to the average 70% in the prior three presidential contests will make it even more difficult.
Yet in foreign policy Iran’s path ahead is unmistakable, centered on the “Look East” strategy, which means closer cooperation with China and Russia, with Iran developing as a key node of Eurasian integration or, according to the Russian vision, the Greater Eurasia Partnership.
As Professor Mohammad Marandi of the University of Tehran told me “there’s going to be a tilt eastward and to the Global South. Iran will improve relations with China and Russia, also because of US pressure and sanctions. President-elect Raeisi will be better positioned to strengthen these ties than the outgoing administration.”
Marandi added, “Iran won’t intentionally hurt the nuclear deal if the Americans – and the Europeans – move towards full implementation. The Iranians will reciprocate. Neighbors and regional countries will also be a priority. So Iran will no longer be waiting for the West.”
Marandi also made a quite nuanced distinction that the current policy was “a major mistake” by Team Rouhani, yet “not the fault of Dr. Zarif or the Foreign Ministry, but the government as a whole.” That implies the Rouhani administration placed all its bets on the JCPOA and was completely unprepared for Trump’s “maximum pressure” offensive, which de facto decimated the reformist-minded Iranian middle class.
In a nutshell: in the Raeisi era, exit “strategic patience” when dealing with the US. Enter “active deterrence”.
A key node of BRI and EAEU
Raeisi was met by those who control the “international community” narrative with proverbially derisive and/or demonizing epithets: loyal to the “repressive machinery” of the Islamic Republic, “hardliner”, a violator of human rights, mass executioner, anti-Western fanatic, or simply “killer”. Amnesty International even called for him to be investigated as perpetrator of crimes against humanity.
Facts are more prosaic. Raeisi, born in Mashhad, has a PhD in jurisprudence and fundamentals of Islamic law and a further jurisprudence degree from the Qom seminary. His previous positions include member of the Assembly of Experts and chief of the Judiciary.
He may not have been exposed to the Western way of life, but he’s not “anti-Western” – as he believes Iran must interact with all nations. Yet foreign policy must follow Khamenei’s guidelines, which are very clear. Without understanding Khamenei’s worldview, any analysis of Iranian complexities is an idle sport. For essential background, please refer to my Asia Times e-book Persian Miniatures.
It all starts with Ayatollah Khomeini’s founding concept of an Islamic Republic, which was indeed influenced by Plato’s Republic as well as Muslim political philosopher al-Farabi’s Virtuous City (also Plato-influenced).
On the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Khamenei updated his concept of foreign policy, as part of a clear map for the future. This is absolutely required reading to understand what Iran is all about. An excellent analysis by Mansoureh Tajik emphasizes the ways the system strives for balance and justice. Khamenei could not be more straightforward when he writes,
“Today, the challenge for the US is Iran’s presence at the borders surrounding the Zionist regime and dismantling the illegitimate influence and presence of America from West Asia, Islamic Republic’s defense of Palestinian fighters at the heart of the occupied territories, and defense of holy flag of Hizbullah and the Resistance in the entire region. If in those days, the West’s problem was preventing Iran from buying even the most primitive forms of arms for its defense, today, its challenge is to prevent the Iranian arms, military equipment, and drones reaching Hizbullah and the Resistance everywhere in the region. If in those days, America imagined it can overcome the Islamic System and the Iranian nation with the help of a few self-selling Iranian traitors, today, it is finding itself in need of a large coalition of tens of hostile yet impotent governments to fight Iran. Yet, it fails.”
In terms of Big Power politics, Iran’s “Look East” policy was devised by Khamenei – who fully vetted the $400 billion-worth Iran-China comprehensive strategic partnership, which is directly linked to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and also supports Iran joining the Russia-led Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU).
So it’s Iran as a key Eurasian connectivity hub that is going to shape its geopolitical and geoeconomic future. And not the West, as Marandi stressed.
China will be investing in Iranian banking, telecom, ports, railways, public health and information technology – not to mention striking bilateral deals in weapons development and intel sharing.
On the Russian front, the impetus will come from the development of the International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC), which directly competes with an East to West overland corridor that can be hit anytime with extra-territorial American sanctions.
Iran has already struck an interim free trade agreement with the EAEU, active since October 2019. A full-fledged deal – with Iran as a full member – may be struck in the first few months of the Raeisi era, with important consequences for trade from the South Caucasus to wider Southwest Asia and even Southeast Asia: Vietnam and Singapore already have free trade zones with the EAEU.
The American rhetoric about Iran’s “isolation” does not fool anyone in Southwest Asia – as the developing interaction with China-Russia attests. Add to it Moscow’s reading of the “mood for deepening dialogue and developing contacts in the defense sphere”.
So this is what the Raeisi era is leading to: a more solid union of Iranian Shi’ism, socialism with Chinese characteristics and the Greater Eurasia Partnership. And it doesn’t hurt that state of the art Russian military technology is quietly surveying the evolving chessboard.
Filed under: China, Eurasia, Russia | Tagged: brl, Ebrahim Raisi, Economy of Resistance., Eurasian integration, Global South, Iran Islamic Revolution, Iranian ballistic missile program, JCPOA, Lifting US sanction, Pepe Escobar, US President Joe Biden’s administration, Vienna negotiations | Comments Off on A Sovereign Iran will Move Closer to Russia-China
إنه الرجل الذي سيحمل راية الجمهورية الثوريّة الثانية بكل ثقة وثبات.
لم يسمع بالفقر في المواعظ المنبريّة، بل عاشه ولمسه منذ الصغر.
عاش يتيماً بعد أن فقد أباه وهو في سن الخامسة. لم تكن عائلته تتمكّن من شراء كيلو رز دفعة واحدة ولا كيلو كامل من اللحم، بل كانوا يشترون من ذلك بمقدار ما يصلهم من رزق.
أمه أرسلته مبكراً الى البازار ليعمل فيه عاملاً بسيطاً يبيع سجادات الصلاة ليساعدها وأهله في تحصيل معاشهم اليومي.
أمه لا تزال تعيش في بيت تحت المتوسط في إحدى نواحي مشهد الفقيرة وترفض الانتقال لطهران العاصمة.
هذا هو الرئيس الإيراني الجديد، المنبعث من بين جمهور الناس، وليس من طبقة الأشراف التي تستمتع بالسلطة منذ النطفة…
لذلك عندما يقول رئيسي إنه سيشكل حكومة ثورية مناهضة للفساد كما ورد في أول تصريحاته بعد فوزه بالرئاسة، فهو صادق وجادّ وسيفعل ذلك بالتأكيد.
رئيسي ليس «محافظاً» كما يوصف في وسائل الاعلام، بل هو أصلاً لا ينتمي لأيّ من الأجنحة السياسية في البلاد.
انه من جنس الشهيد رجائي والشهيد بهشتي والشهيد قاسم سليماني…
إنه من جنس الفقراء، من الناس الذين يمشون في الأسواق ويأكلون الطعام…
دعوني أحاول أن ألخص لكم ماذا يعني تسلم السيد إبراهيم «رئيس الساداتي» الحكومة في إيران، بلغة متفاوتة، كما أراها ـ من وجهة نظري ـ المنتمية إلى عالم ما فوق الميول والاتجاهات السياسية الإيرانية:
فأن يتسلّم السيد رئيسي السلطة التنفيذية في البلاد يعني ذلك ما يلي بلغة الناس:
أولاً ـ إنه سيحبط مشروع إسقاط النظام بالجمهور. وهو الأمر الذي فعله في يوم الانتخاب والذي سيسقطه يومياً في أدائه العملي، كما سيطيح بمقولة الفصل بين الدولة والدين او بين السياسة والدين أو بين رجل الحكم ورجل الدين التي لطالما حاولوا فرضها على إيران، مرة والى الأبد…
لقد حاول الأجانب جهدهم منذ أول الثورة ان يقولوا للشعب الإيراني أنّ رجال الدين يجب ان يذهبوا الى المساجد ويتركوا الحكم للأفندية، ومن ثم تصاعدت المؤامرة وتشعّبت لتقول للأمة الإيرانية بأنّ هؤلاء (أيّ رجال الدين) لا يفقهون بعلوم العصر، ولا بالتعامل مع الدنيا، وأخيراً باتهامهم بأنهم يريدون مصادرة كلّ أشكال الديمقراطية الحديثة وعلوم الحداثة لصالح «الحكومة الإسلامية» المعادية للحريات وحقوق الإنسان والمرأة، فإذا برئيسي وعلى نهج رئيسه وقائده وقائد الثورة والأمة الإسلامية يفاجئهم بحرص مضاعف لا نظير له على كلّ هذه الأمور واعتبارها جزءاً أساسياً من مشروعية النظام، لا مفهوم للجمهورية الإسلامية ولا معنى لها ولا تستقيم من دون الجمهور وصناديق الاقتراع التي حرصوا على احترامها لمدة أربعة عقود متتالية حتى وسط حروب مدمرة للمدن والبلدات، وأن يظهر لهم رئيسي وزوجته جميلة علم الهدى متعلمين ومتبحّربن بالعلوم الحديثة أكثر من سائر المرشحين، بل وأعمق من مرشحين في ديمقراطيات عريقة بينها لندن وباريس وواشنطن.
ثانياً ـ إنه سيحبط مشروع فرض النظام السياسي والاقتصادي النيوليبرالي على إيران. أيّ انه سيعمل ليل نهار على مكافحة الفساد والرشوة ونظام البنوك الروتشيلدية، ويقارع مقولة «أنّ الغرب وحده بيده مفتاح الازدهار والتنمية السياسية والاقتصادية» للبلدان النامية والصاعدة ويطيح بها في الداخل الإيراني بنظرية ومشروع الاقتصاد المقاوم الذي يعتمد الدورة الاقتصادية الإنتاجية الداخلية أولاً، ومن ثم التوجه شرقاً والخروج على هيمنة الدولار الأميركي من خلال إقامة تعاون استراتيجي عميق مع الصين وروسيا وكلّ بلدان العالم المناهضة للاحادية الأميركية.
ثالثاً ـ سيحبط بحزم مشروع فرض «أوسلو» نوويّ على إيران الذي كانوا يعدّونه ويعملون عليه بقوة منذ أيام أوباما ولا يزالون.
وما فرضوه على إيران من شروط حتى الآن لم يكن سوى مقدّمة وتمهيد (من وجهة النظر الغربية) لفرض شروط إضافية تتعلق بفرض محدوديات على المنظومة الصاروخية الإيرانية، وإخراج إيران من المعادلة الإقليميّة من خلال فرض شروط ضرورة تخليها عن حركات التحرّر العربية والاسلامية لا سيما في فلسطين ولبنان وسورية واليمن والعراق.
سيكون رئيسي حازماً كما يريد الإمام الخامنئي، في تعامله مع ما يُسمّى بـ المجتمع الدولي الانتهازي والمنافق، ولن يسمح له لا باستنزاف الديبلوماسية الإيرانية في مفاوضات لا طائل من ورائها، ولا بعزله وحشره في زاوية إما القبول بشروط «أوسلويّة» أو الصدام، بل انتهاج نظرية حليفه الثوري سعيد جليلي الذي ربما تسلّم الخارجية الإيرانية والتي تقضي بإنهاك المفاوض الغربي وجعله هو مَن يلهث وراء المفاوض الإيراني كما فعل به جليلي يوم كان رئيساً لمجلس الأمن القومي في حكومة نجاد.
تذكروا انّ الإمام السيد علي الخامنئي لطالما كرّر بعض الثوابت في هذا السياق ستكون بمثابة قناديل مضيئة لرئيسي في هذا المضمار وهي:
1 ـ إذا أراد الغرب تمزيق الاتفاق فنحن سنحرقه.
2 ـ إذا تطلّبت حاجاتنا ومصالحنا التخصيب بنسبة 90 بالمئة فسنخصّب ولن نفاوض أحداً.
3 ـ نستطيع ان نطوّر صواريخنا إلى مديات 5 آلاف لكننا فعلاً لا نقوم بذلك الآن، وعندما نريد سنفعل ولن نفاوض أحداً.
4 ـ إحباط مفعول العقوبات أهم من إنجاز رفعها.
وبالتالي في زمن رئيسي أظننا لم نعد بحاجة لأمنية عودة واشنطن الى الاتفاق ولا لرفع العقوبات عنا…
تذكروا أنّ السيد رئيسي في مناظراته الانتخابية أعلن بوضوح:
أنه مع المفاوضات حول النووي ولكن بشروط القائد التسعة (الخطوط الحمر المشهورة)، وانّ هذا لن تتمكّن منه إلا حكومة قوية وحازمة.
لقد تخطّت إيران المنعطف التاريخي الداخلي على طريق دخول الجمهورية الثورية الثانية، بقي تحدّي المنعطف التاريخي الدولي وهو الذي ستتخطاه مع مجموع قوى محور المقاومة، باذن الله.
وعليه نستطيع أن نلخص ربما بلغة أكثر قرباً للغة الناس أقول:
السيد ابراهيم رئيسي «الحزب اللهي»، سيتخذ سياسة ثورية حازمة متحركة واضحة شفافة تريد التعامل مع الدنيا بعقل منفتح نعم، وغير منعزلة عن العالم نعم، ولكن ايضاً ليست هجينة ومتردّدة و»رجل بالبور ورجل بالفلاحة» على طريقة:
«هذا قبر سيدنا حجر بن عدي رضوان الله عليه قتله سيدنا معاوية رضوان الله عليه»!
لا أبداً، هذه السياسة ستنتهي وإلى الأبد، وستتمّ تسمية الأشياء بأسمائها، ما يثلج صدر الثوريين الداخليين ومن محور المقاومة.
بعدنا طيّبين قولوا الله…
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Filed under: Palestine, The Islamic Republic of Iran, US-Iran Relations | Tagged: Biden's Foreign Policy, Color Revolutions, de-dollarization, Ebrahim Raisi, Economy of Resistance., Iran Islamic Revolution, Iran Nuclear Program, Lifting US sanction | Comments Off on الانتخاب التاريخيّ المنعطف الشهداء يعودون والعودّ أحمد…
For anybody wanting peace, it is important to understand the logic of those who want war. What I propose to do today is to list all the reasons why the US is waging war not only on Russia, but also on Europe. This time again I will use a bulletpoint list (in no special order)
I could go on, but I think the point is clear: for the “Biden” administration, the upcoming war will be a dream come true, a way of killing many birds with one stone and, most importantly, a way to really hurt Russia (that will be true in spite of the fact that Russia will easily prevail militarily against any imaginable combination of forces in the eastern Ukraine.
Of course, all of the above is predicated on the deeply mistaken belief by US politicians that Russia is weak and the US invulnerable. Remember, while US politicians are long on chutzpah and narcissistic and messianic self-worship, they ain’t too knowledgeable about history (or anything pertaining to Zone B).
The bottom line is this: Uncle Shmuel is preparing a continental 9/11 PSYOP operation. Even worse is that I don’t see what/who/how anybody could stop it.
Do you?
Kind regards
Filed under: 9/11, EU, Germany, Russia, United Kingdom UK, US-led NATO Alliance, USA | Tagged: Crimea, Donbass, Eastern Ukraine, Economy of Resistance., Nord Stream 2, The Saker, Ukro-nazis, US President Joe Biden’s administration, Western Wars on Russia | 1 Comment »
Apri l 5, 2021
The U.S. will ignore the message from Anchorage. It is already testing China over Taiwan, and is preparing an escalation in Ukraine, to test Russia.
Sun Tzu’s The Art of War (c. 500 BCE) advises that: “To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands; yet the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself … Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will; and does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him”. This is the essence of the Chinese resistance economy – a strategy which has been fully unveiled in the wake of the Anchorage talks; talks that silenced any lingering thoughts in Beijing that America might somehow find some modus vivendi with Beijing in its headlong pursuit of primacy over China.
Although earlier there had been tantalising glimpses of déshabillé, the full reveal to China’s tough stance and rhetoric has only been permitted now – post-Anchorage – and the talks’ confirmation that the U.S. intends to block China’s ascent.
If it is assumed that this ‘resistance’ initiative constitutes some tit-for-tat ‘jab’ at Washington – through sinking Biden’s Iran ambitions, as revenge for America loudly crying ‘war crimes’ (‘genocide’ in Xingjian) – then we miss wholly its full import. The scope of the Iran pact by far transcends trade and investment, as one commentator in the Chinese state media made plain: “As it stands, this deal (the Iran pact) will totally upend the prevailing geopolitical landscape in the West Asian region that has for so long been subject to U.S. hegemony”.
So here is the essence to ‘a clever combatant moving to impose his will’ – there is no need for China or Russia or Iran to go to war to do this; they just implement ‘it’. They can do ‘it’ – quite simply. They don’t need a revolution to do it, because they have no vested interest in fighting America.
What is ‘it’? It is not just a trade and investment pact with Tehran; neither is it simply allies helping each other. The ‘resistance’ lies precisely with the way they’re trying to help each other. It is a mode of economic development. It represents the notion that any rent-yielding resource – banking, land, natural resources and natural infrastructure monopolies – should be in the public domain to provide basic needs to everybody – freely.
The alternative way simply is to privatise these ‘public goods’ (as in the West), where they are provided at a financialized maximum cost – including interest rates, dividends, management fees, and corporate manipulations for financial gain.
‘It’ is then a truly different economic approach. To give one example: New York’s Second Avenue Subway extension cost $6 billion, or $2 billion per mile – the most expensive urban mass transit ever built. The average cost of underground subway lines outside the U.S. is $350 million a mile, or a sixth of New York’s cost.
How does this ‘it’ change everything? Well, just imagine for a moment: the biggest element in anyone’s budget today is housing at 40%, which simply reflects high house prices, based on a debt-fuelled market. Instead, imagine that proportion at 10% (as in China). Suppose too, you have low-cost public education. Well then, you are rid of education-led debt, and its interest cost. Suppose you have public healthcare, and low priced transport infrastructure. Then you would have the capacity to spend – It becomes a low-cost economy, and consequently it would grow.
Another example: The cost of hiring R&D staff in China is a third to half the comparable cost in the U.S., so China’s tech spend is closer to $1 trillion a year (in terms of purchasing power parity), whereas the U.S. spends just 0.6% of GDP, or about $130 billion, on federal R&D.
At one level therefore, this ‘it’ is a strategic challenge to the western eco-system. In one corner, the debt-driven, hyper-financialised, yet stagnant economies of Europe and the EU – in which strategic direction and economic ‘winners and losers’ are set by the Big Oligarchs, and in which the 60% struggle, and 0.1% thrive. And, in the far corner, a very mixed economy in which the Party sets a strategic course for state enterprises, whilst others are encouraged to innovate, and to be entrepreneurial in the mould of a state-directed economy (albeit, with Taoist and Confucian characteristics).
Socialism versus capitalism? No, it is a long time since the U.S. was a capitalist economy; it’s hardly even a market economy today. It has become, more and more, a rentier economy since leaving the gold standard (in 1971). This forced U.S. exit from the ‘gold window’ facilitated the U.S. via the resultant global demand for U.S. debt instruments, (Treasury bonds), to finance itself for free (from out of the entire world’s economic surplus). The Washington Consensus ensured additionally that the inflows of dollars to Wall Street from around the globe would never be subject capital controls, nor would states be able to create their own currency, but would have to borrow in dollars from the World Bank and the IMF.
And that essentially meant borrowing from the Pentagon and the State Department in U.S. dollars, who ultimately were the system ‘enforcers’, as Professor Hudson notes. The shift in the U.S. financial system to being an entity that that prioritises ‘real’ assets, such as mortgages and real estate that offer a certain ‘rent’, rather than to invest directly in speculative business ventures, also means that debt jubilees are verboten. (The Greeks can recount the experience of what that entails, in grim detail).
The point is that – at the economic plane – the U.S., hyper-financialised sphere is fast shrinking, as China, Russia and much of the ‘World Island’ turn to trading in their own currencies (and do not buy U.S. Treasuries). In a ‘war’ of economic systems, America therefore starts on the back foot.
Halford Mackinder argued a century ago that control of the ‘Heartland’, which stretched from the Volga to the Yangtze, would control the ‘World Island’, which was his term for all Europe, Asia and Africa. Over a century later, Mackinder’s theory resonates as the two leading nations behind the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) transform this into a system of inter-relations from one Eurasian end to another. It is not so new, of course. It is simply the revival of the ancient trade-based economy of the Eurasian heartland, which finally was collapsed in the 17th century.
Alastair Macleod notes that commentators usually fail to understand ‘why’ this flourishing in West Asia is happening: “It is not due to military superiority, but down to simple economics. While the U.S. economy suffers a post-lockdown inflationary outcome and an existential crisis for the dollar – China’s economy will boom on the back of increasing domestic consumption … and increasing exports, the consequence of America’s stimulation of consumer demand and a soaring budget deficit”.
There, explicitly said, is Sun Tzu’s point! “Opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself”. There is in Washington (and to an extent in Europe too), a faction entertaining a pathological emotional desire for war with Russia, largely stemming from a conviction that the Tzars (and later Stalin), were anti-Semitic. Their emotion is one of hatred and anger, yet it is they who largely are responsible for bringing Russia and China together. This, and America’s proclivity to sanction the world, has given China and Russia their opportunity.
The underlying point however, is that – even for the EU – the Rimland periphery is less important than Mackinder’s World Island. There was a time when British and then American primacy outweighed its importance – but this may no longer be true. What is actualising here is the greatest challenge yet mounted to American economic power and technological supremacy.
Yet this economic Realpolitik is but half the story to China and Russia’s launch of a ‘global resistance economy’. It has a parallel geo-political frame, too.
It is to this latter aspect, most probably, that the Chinese official referred when he said that the Iran deal would “totally upend the prevailing geopolitical landscape in the West Asian region that has for so long been subject to U.S. hegemony”. Note that he did not say that it would upend Iran’s relations with U.S. or Europe – he said the whole region. He implied too, that China’s initiatives would free West Asia from American hegemony. How so?
In an interview last week, FM Wang Yi outlined Beijing’s approach to the West Asian region:
“The Middle East was a highland of brilliant civilizations in human history. Yet, due to protracted conflicts and turmoil in the more recent history, the region descended into a security lowland … For the region to emerge from chaos and enjoy stability, it must break free from the shadows of big-power geopolitical rivalry, and independently explore development paths suited to its regional realities. It must stay impervious to external pressure and interference, and follow an inclusive and reconciliatory approach to build a security architecture that accommodates the legitimate concerns of all sides … Against this backdrop, China wishes to propose a five-point initiative on achieving security and stability in the Middle East:
“Firstly, advocating mutual respect … Both sides should uphold the international norm of non-interference in others’ internal affairs … it is particularly important for China and Arab states to stand together against slandering, defamation, interference and pressurizing in the name of human rights … [the EU should take note]
“Second, upholding equity and justice, opposing unilateralism, and defending international justice … China will encourage the Security Council to fully deliberate on the question of Palestine to reaffirm the two-state solution … We should uphold the UN-centred international system, as well as the international order underpinned by international law – and jointly promote a new type of international relations. We should share governance experience … and oppose arrogance and prejudice.
“Third, achieving non-proliferation … Parties need to … discuss and formulate the roadmap and timeframe for the United States and Iran to resume compliance with the JCPOA. The pressing task is for the U.S. to take substantive measures to lift its unilateral sanctions on Iran, and long-arm jurisdiction on third parties, and for Iran to resume reciprocal compliance with its nuclear commitments. At the same time, the international community should support efforts by regional countries in establishing a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
“Fourth, jointly fostering collective security … We propose holding in China a multilateral dialogue conference for regional security in the Gulf (Persian Gulf) …
“And fifthly, accelerating development cooperation …”.
Well, China has spectacularly made its entrance in the Middle East, and is challenging the U.S. with a resistance agenda. FM Wang, when he met with Ali Larijani, special adviser to the Supreme Leader Khamenei, framed it all in a single sentence: “Iran decides independently on its relations with other countries, and is not like some countries that change their position with one phone call”. This single comment encapsulates the new ‘wolf warrior’ ethos: states should stick with their autonomy and sovereignty. China is advocating a sovereigntist multilateralism to shake off “the western yoke”.
Wang did not confine this political message to Iran. He had just said the same in Saudi Arabia, before arriving in Tehran. It was well received in Riyadh. In economic development terms, China earlier had linked Turkey and Pakistan into the ‘corridor’ plan – and now Iran.
How will the U.S. react? It will ignore the message from Anchorage. It will likely press on. It is already testing China over Taiwan, and is preparing an escalation in Ukraine, to test Russia.
For the EU, the Chinese entry into global politics is more problematic. It was trying to leverage its own ‘strategic autonomy’ by erecting European values as the gateway to inclusion into its market and trade partnership. China effectively is telling the world to reject any such hegemonic imposition of alien values and rights.
The EU is stranded in the midst. Unlike the U.S., it is precluded from printing the money with which to resurrect its virus-blighted economy. It desperately needs trade and investment. Its biggest trading partner, and its tech well-spring, however, has just told the EU (as the U.S.), to give up on its moralising discourse. At the same time, Europe’s ‘security partner’ has just demanded the opposite – that the EU strengthens it. What’s to be done? Sit back, and watch … (with fingers crossed that no one does something extremely stupid).
Filed under: Russia, Taiwan, The Islamic Republic of Iran, Ukraine, USA | Tagged: Economy of Resistance., End of Western hegemony, JCPOA, SCO, West Asia | 1 Comment »
بعد أن باتت مكشوفة خطة أميركا التي تستهدف لبنان عدواناً عليه من أجل الإطاحة بمكتسباته التي حققها بصموده ومقاومته التي حرّرت الأرض في الجنوب وأقامت توازن الردع الاستراتيجي مع العدو الإسرائيلي ووفرت الحماية الفاعلة لثرواته الطبيعية من ماء ونفط، بعد أن اتضحت معالم تلك الخطة باعتبارها تقوم على سلسلة من حلقات تبدأ بالحصار والتجويع وتمرّ بالفتنة والاقتتال الداخلي وتنتهي بعدوان إسرائيلي يشترط لتنفيذه النجاح في المراحل السابقة أي فرض التجويع ونشر الفتن والاقتياد إلى الحرب الأهلية.
بعد كل هذا أضحى الدفاع عن لبنان ومنع العدوان الإسرائيلي عليه وقبله منع الفتنة والاقتتال فيه، يبدأ بمنع التجويع، وباتت مسألة تحقيق ما يحتاجه الناس من أجل معيشتهم من سلع وخدمات، واجباً وطنياً يندرج في إطار تحقيق الأمن والسلامة العامة، باعتبار أنّ الأمن الغذائي والأمن المعيشي هو في الأصل فرع من فروع الأمن العام أما مع وجود خطة عدوان خارجي تستند إلى هذا العنصر وتتوسّل الإخلال بالأمن الغذائي للنيل من لبنان، فقد بات تحقيق الأمن. هذا يشكل وجهاً من وجوه الدفاع.
وبهذا يجب ان تفهم دعوة الأمين العام لحزب الله لممارسة المقاومة الاقتصادية عبر تحويل التهديد بالجوع والعوز والفاقة، إلى فرصة يستغلها لبنان يحول من خلالها اقتصاده من اقتصاد ريعي واهن يقوم على الخدمات إلى اقتصاد قوي متماسك يقوم على الإنتاج، اقتصاد تكون عماده الزراعة والصناعة التي يتحكم بمسارها اللبناني ذو الخبرة والكفاءة والقادر على استغلال أرضه في الزراعة وأمواله وكفاءاته في الصناعة استغلالاً يمكنه من تحويل وجهة توفير السلع واستبدال المصادر الخارجية لها التي تهدر الأموال الصعبة إلى مصادر داخلية تحقق له اكتفاء ذاتياً يبقي العملة الصعبة في الداخل في مرحلة أولى ثم يتطور إلى التصدير ليصبح مصدراً لتدفق الأموال من الخارج بما يعيد شيئاً من التوازن للميزان التجاري الذي تفاقم اختلاله منذ العام 1992 تاريخ الاعتماد حصراً على الاقتصاد الريعيّ وتدمير الصناعة والزراعة في لبنان بعيداً عن الاقتصاد الإنتاجي.
علينا أن ندرك أننا في حرب حقيقية الآن وان المواجهة فيها ليست بين تجار يتنافسون على ربح مادي من أسعار سلع وخدمات يوفرونها. فالمسألة ليست تنافساً واحتكاراً يمارسه تاجر بل هي حرب بكل معنى الكلمة تقوم على مبدأ أطلقه الغرب منذ ثلاثة قرون قال فيه إن “مالك الرزق يكون مالكاً للعنق ومن تحكم بلقمة عيشك أخضعك بسهولة”، مبدأ اتجهت أميركا إلى العمل به وبشراسة بعد ان عجزت في المواجهة في الميدان رغم تقلبها في مختلف صيغ المواجهة واستراتيجيتها من قوة صلبة إلى قوة ناعمة إلى قوة مركبة ذكية. بعد كل هذا قررت أميركا الحرب الاقتصادية او الإرهاب الاقتصادي تمارسه على لبنان عامة وتدّعي بأنها تستهدف به حزب الله فقط وهو ادّعاء كاذب طبعا، وبعد أن بلغت المواجهة بين المحور الاستعماري الذي تقوده أميركا ومحور المقاومة الذي ينتظم فيه حزب الله أوجها في لبنان وطالت لقمة المواطن وكل مفاصل حياته ومعيشته وباتت محطة ممهدة للعدوان الخارجي على لبنان، عدوان يستهدف حقوقه في الأرض والبحر وسيادته في الأجواء، فإن مواجهة عدوان أميركا ورفض الاستسلام لها باتت تشكل واجباً وطنياً يندرج في سياق الدفاع عن الوطن دفاعاً يهدف إلى التحرر الاقتصادي من الهيمنة الأميركية، تحرراً لا يقل أهمية عن تحرير الأرض والإرادة.
والتحرر الاقتصادي المطلوب هذا هو الذي يستلزم المقاومة الاقتصادية التي يجب أن يلتزم بها كل مواطن قادر على عمل ما في سياقها، مقاومة لا تقتصر على مسألة تحويل الإنتاج من ريعي إلى إنتاجي والسير في طريق تحقيق الاكتفاء الذاتي من السلع الاستهلاكيّة والخدمات التي يحتاجها الفرد والجماعة، بل مقاومة تشمل التفلت من القبضة الأميركية في اختيار الشركاء في العملية الاقتصادية والخروج من حالة يكون فيها رضا أميركا شرطاً للتعامل الاقتصادي مع الخارج إلى وضع تكون فيه “مصلحة لبنان هي المحرك لإقامة أي علاقة مع الخارج” وفي حال انتقل لبنان من الأولى إلى الثانية أي انتقل من رضا أميركا إلى مصلحة لبنان، سيجد أميركا تتراجع كثيراً عن ممارستها الوحشية للإرهاب الاقتصادي ضده… وعلى لبنان أن يملك شجاعة القرار وشجاعة المواجهة في التنفيذ وسيجد أن الأمور أهون بكثير مما كان يُتوقّع أو يُظنّ.
وإضافة إلى التحوّل في طبيعة الاقتصاد، والتحوّل في اختيار الأسواق الخارجية، هناك شرط ثالث لنجاح المقاومة الاقتصادية، وهو شرط داخلي إداري مالي ذاتي، يتمثل بالإصلاح الإداري والمالي وبمراجعة النظم الإدارية والمالية القائمة في لبنان والقيمين عليها، والانتقال من التصوّر القائم اليوم لدى غالبية الموظفين في لبنان ومن كل الفئات والأسلاك، تصور يتمثل بالقول بأن “الوظيفة العامة هي ملكية واستثمار” ملكية للطائفة واستثمار بيد مَن يتولاها، والانتقال إلى المفهوم الوطني لها واعتبار “الوظيفة العامة خدمة وطنية عامة” والموظف عامل مأجور لدى لشعب وليس جلاداً يتحكم بأموال الشعب وأعصاب أفراده.
إنها شروط ثلاثة يفترض توفرها لنجاح المقاومة الاقتصادية بالشكل الذي يعول عليه لإنقاذ لبنان وحمايته وجوداً ودوراً، شروط يجب أن تكون ماثلة في ذهن كل مَن يحاول وضع استراتيجية دفاعية للبنان، فالدفاع لا يتوقف عند تحرير الأرض ودرء الخطر الناري عليها بل يشمل كل التدابير التي تستهدف حماية الأرض ومَن عليها في وجوده وحقوقه ومستلزمات عيشه وكرامته وسيادته. وبهذا نجعل الخطر الذي يشكله العدوان الأميركي على لبنان الآن والذي يُنذر بأسوأ العواقب نجعله فرصة يصنع فيها اللبناني حبال النجاة وجسور العبور من دوائر الخطر على المصير إلى مواقع الطمأنينة للمواطن والوطن…
أستاذ جامعي ـ باحث استراتيجي
Filed under: American Hegemony, Lebanon, Lebanon Islamic Resistance - Hezbollah | Tagged: Ameen Hutait, Economy of Resistance., Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah | Comments Off on المقاومة الاقتصاديّة حاجة لبنانيّة للدفاع عن النفس.. فما هي أركانها؟
Description:
Senior Lebanese political analyst Anees Naqqash says that the United States should know that the ‘Resistance Axis’ is the one that now controls the entire West Asia region, and that Washington is in no position to impose conditions on Lebanon (such as closing the Lebanese-Syrian border) in return for easing its economic pressure on the country.
Naqqash, who is closely-linked to Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, is a prominent fixture on Lebanese and Arab television, especially on channels affiliated with the so-called ‘Resistance Axis’.
The ‘Resistance Axis’ broadly refers to a strategic anti-Israel/anti-US imperialist alliance composed of, but not limited to, Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi, Yemen’s Ansarullah, and various Palestinian armed factions.
Source: Al Mayadeen News
Date: June 29, 2020https://www.youtube.com/embed/AbMglSs8WM0?feature=oembed
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Extended Transcript:
(Please note: below is an extended transcript providing more translation segments from the original interview. The actual transcript for subtitled video can be found at bottom of page under ‘Video transcript section’)
Naqqash:
Not all Lebanese are united against American imperialism. There are some (Lebanese) intellectuals, politicians and journalists who serve America more than it ever asks them to. We read (their writings), we follow them, we hear their statements, and we marvel at their enthusiasm for America, as if they had not learnt any lessons from history. Now is this issue over, as the ambassador – the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – claimed? I do not think so. We are only at the starting line. The American attack on Lebanon did not begin with the (current economic) sanctions, it started in 1948 when (the US) supported the (Israeli) Zionist entity and incited it to wage wars against Arab countries. We will never forget that, and our peoples should never forget either. America is the enemy of the peoples of the region and the main supporter of Israel. This is one.
Regarding Lebanon in particular, (the US) harmed Lebanon more than once. With great hypocrisy, it claims to be Lebanon’s friend, but has always demanded that Israel stays stronger than Lebanon, that Israel despises and strikes Lebanon. In the July war (in 2006), it was very clear that the war was at the request of Dick Cheney, the American (vice president at the time). Israel was thus implementing an American decision. This is another thing that our people should not forget. Today, (the US) and Israel cannot eliminate the resistance (Hezbollah) through war. Therefore, they resorted to striking the social, economic and political environment in Lebanon through economic blockade. They are being delusional. They will not achieve their goal. They hope that people supporting the resistance will turn against it.
Now, the proactive response to the results (Americans) dream of came from Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and I think this is what provoked the (US) ambassador (in Lebanon). This statement was orchestrated by the US State Department, not the ambassador. The proof is that Pompeo said his piece as well. Sayyed Nasrallah’s statement was strongly worded, highly threatening, full of high expectations and highly strategic. He said, at the beginning, and promised his people that we have plans to get through this economic blockade and our people will not go hungry. Then, he went on to talk about the end of the American-Israeli goals from this starvation and this blockade and said “we will kill you. You want to prevent us from destroying Israel and prevent us from fighting you and killing you, we assure you…” He (Sayyed Nasrallah) said it three times: “We will kill you. We will kill you. We will kill you”. This (repetition) means that we will win the economic battle and the battle that you (Israel) want to avoid, i.e. the military battle. The time when these plans will be unveiled and the big clash will break out, is determined by the Axis of Resistance and objective circumstances.
But surely our people will not go hungry. Our allies are strong. We heard a statement from Russia and China condemning the statements of the United States and its ambassador (in Lebanon). These two great powers confirmed that they stand by Lebanon and condemn these American statements.
——–
Naqqash:
I want to get back to the issue of exaggeration regarding the food crisis. I do not think that the people who were willing to sacrifice their lives when they were under fire, who lost their homes and livelihoods in the July war (2006), would be brought down with bread and butter. This is impossible.
We launched the slogan “plant a garden” at the beginning of the crisis, before it worsened. Today there are thousands of hectares and thousands of gardens. Our people will not starve. We are prepared for this long-running battle. There are friendly countries that will lend us a helping hand. As we saw Iran helped Venezuela and broke a much more important and much larger blockade than the blockade imposed on Lebanon, since Lebanon is much smaller than Venezuela.
The most important thing is that Lebanon is not subject to sanctions alone. Syria is subject to sanctions, undermining peace and security in Iraq and besieging the country in several ways are also types of sanctions, Iran has sanctions, China is threatened with sanctions and a trade war, Russia is subject to sanctions. So we are facing a world war launched by the United States under the title of “economic sanctions” on more than one country. Therefore, these countries must find ways to work together.
Two weeks ago, a delegation went to Syria and left last week after signing an agreement to extend a line of credit from Iran in order to provide Syria with several products and raw materials. Yesterday, President Putin also ordered the Russian army to use all its economic, cultural and media means to help Syria stand on its own feet. We are not alone.
The United States is playing its final cards and it will fail, especially as it faces its own economic crisis. The US is threatened by civil war more than Lebanon is threatened by any local violent actions. I am certain of that. We are in the midst of a conflict that will end in our favor, just as we planned and prepared. We assure our people, as we have always done, that victory will be ours. We would never promise to take any steps if we were not prepared for such a challenge.
————
Video transcript section:
Naqqash:
(As for the US demand that Lebanon) close its borders with Syria, this means opening up the borders with Israel because Lebanon only borders Syria and the (Mediterranean) sea. When someone asks (us/the Lebanese) to close the borders with Syria, they will not only be asking us to seal the borders with a neighboring and friendly country, but with all countries beyond Syria, like Iraq, Jordan and other Arab countries.
We need to export (goods) now more than ever. We need to work with neighboring countries because we can use our local currency (in regional trade) and achieve economic integration. The US is overtly demanding that Lebanon commit a greater economic suicide (by closing its borders with Syria). However, this will not happen because our people are in control. America should know that our people (the Resistance Axis) are not only in control of the borders with Syria, we are in control of all of West Asia. This is what America should understand.
The US State Department is creating a smokescreen. If the (US State Department) consults the Pentagon (regarding this policy), the Pentagon will tell it that you will not able to pursue this policy if a war erupted or if all resistance forces moved (into action) using their full power. What are they threatening us with? They (Americans) are using the last method (card) they have, only to please Israel and some of the Arabs who are struggling for power. The US wants to show them that it is still taking action, but they are losing this battle. Closing (Lebanon’s) borders (with Syria) is a myth (i.e. an impossibility). We threaten them not only with opening up the borders (with Syria), but with abolishing them completely if we decide to do so today. There is no force on the face of the earth, no Lebanese, Arab or foreign force that can prevent us from abolishing the borders if we decide to. They (Americans) know this fact.
As for economic integration, this region is rich in resources, and some major countries are ready to help. The country (Iran) who sent seven oil tankers accompanied by a giant tanker carrying foodstuffs to open (its) first commercial center in Venezuela, (can do that again in Lebanon).
Filed under: Lebanon, Syria | Tagged: 2006 July War, American Aggression, Anis naqash, Dorothy Shea US Ambassador in Lebanon, Economy of Resistance., Israeli Brutal Aggression, Lebanon's Zionists, Pompeo, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, The Axis of Resistance, The Zio-temporary entity, US Withdrawal from west Asia | Comments Off on US should know ‘Resistance’ now controls all of West Asia: Naqqash
Monday, 27 April 2020 5:46 AM
Part 1 discussed how the West’s coronavirus response totally ignored the needs of their lower classes, and also how Iran’s “Resistance Economy” rejects Western economic liberalism (and neoliberalism) which has always sought to relegate non-Westerners to second-class economic partners.
As I have written previously, the West’s corona response is not just murderously mediocre but middle-class – it assumes everyone has a comfortable home, savings and a stable job. The West is employing quarantining, control methods and collective-over-individualist concepts used by Asian nations, but without having similar cultures of government economic intervention nor widespread trust in their governments. It is not hysteria to suggest that this could prove fatal to their bubble-filled, high-finance dominated economies.
There is a lot of foolish talk from Westerners, who are effectively forbidden to learn about and discuss how capitalism-imperialism truly operates, regarding how corona will cause supply chains to move back home. This has produced a lot of soon-to-be-forgotten agreement from their politicians, who are desperate to show that – all of a sudden – they care about their lower classes. Recall that the “end of irony” was proclaimed after 9/11 – will we see the “end of globalisation” because of coronavirus?
That’s funny.
The state of Delaware is where most US corporations are located and buy their charters – if it is not the world’s biggest corporate tax haven, according to The New York Times and The Japan Times, the state is certainly among the world’s top five. (Indeed, it should now be no surprise why Delaware senator Joe Biden was chosen to be Barack Obama’s running mate amid the 2008 economic crisis.) It could not be more crystal clear, even though neoliberals in the US often try to sow confusion about this fact: “Delaware corporate law requires corporate directors to manage firms for the benefit of shareholders, and not for any other constituency.” So anyone thinking corporations will sacrifice a mere fraction of their stock price in order to move supply chains back home are absolutely deluded about the possibility of patriotism, much less humanity, in “Capitalism with American characteristics”: their laws explicitly forbid it.
The post-corona persistence of neoliberalism – an ideology predicated on reducing government programs and expenditures for the 99% with ruthless efficiency – means that Western governments both national and local will be so strapped for cash in a post-Lockdown climate that they will be forced to try and save every nickel they can to maximise ever-more inadequate tax revenues and income. They will forced to buy from China, Haiti or whoever can save them pennies, because this is exactly what neoliberalism demands – it fundamentally neuters economic patriotism.
Urban hipsters who perhaps previously would pay premiums to “eat local” (because it is tastier) will soon find that unemployment (or a worsening of the seemingly never-ending underemployment for the West’s youth class) drastically alters one’s menu options. They would like to “eat local”, but many will be forced to forego the local farmers’ market to buy their food as cheaply as possible, and regardless of provenance.
So such talk from Esquire magazine bout how corona will usher in a new economy based around “resilience preparedness” is totally absurd: the very basis of globalisation is hyper-specialisation (Adam Smith) and turning every nation into a single cash crop/cow (David Ricardo’s comparative advantage) writ large, and these two concepts are the very opposite pole of resilience. Hyper-specialisation is hyper-resistant… but in one single area; if classic liberalism or modern neoliberalism or the “free market” selected your country to produce hygienic masks, congratulations! According to them you should jack up the price and the rest of us should not try to domestically produce our own.
Contrarily, we can say that Iran has tried to create “specialisation” in the normal way – within a single national economy’s different regions instead of all over the world, messianically and arrogantly. This is why they have employed a “resistance economy” (with many egalitarian principles held over from the “command/war economy” era), which is based around self-sufficiency, protectionism, government intervention to stimulate innovation in vital sectors, and government ownership in essentially every sector with medium or large importance. This, even more than the insistence that Islam is compatible with democracy, is why the West wages war on Iran.
The good news for Iranians: these economic principles are what promote resilience and preparedness, they curtail the indebtedness/poverty of the lower classes, and they will make Iran far more capable of weathering the economic turmoil of the coming months.
It is amusing that some in the West are now clamouring for sensible, humane, patriotic, efficient measures which Iran has employed for decades. Is Iran’s economic idea more exportable to Esquire if we call it a “resilience economy”, perhaps?
The Iranian economy in opposition to the West’s seemingly certain post-Great Lockdown economic chaos
At the root of this economic program is not anti-capitalism but anti-the-type-of-capitalism which today’s Iranians are violently confronted by: neoliberalism and globalisation. This form of capitalism is the most-geared towards maximising the profits and market concentration of the 1%, whereas a “resistance economy” is fundamentally-geared towards satisfying the needs of the Iranian 99%. The Koran sanctions capitalism, after all, but it bans usury and has clear exhortations to equality and the economic redistribution of massively-ordered charity. (If the West would simply follow the ban on usury – exorbitant interest and debilitating compound interest – they would be so much better off….)
If the Iranian Revolution did not satisfy the needs of their 99%… how can we possibly explain its endurance amid all the growth-sabotaging Cold War from the West? The question never was growth, after all, but re-distribution. The same logical argument stands for anti-imperialist Cuba and North Korea – caricaturing these nations as totalitarian oligarchies will continue to lose its false power for as long as these countries continue to not just endure but thrive (considering Western blockades), and for as long as the West’s post-1980 inequality entrenchment continues. Despite the looming economic crisis, does anyone really believe the West is culturally capable of reversing these inequality trends?
Undoubtedly, the West’s corona overreaction will make their economies – which were already in a Great Recession – even weaker.
Yes, this will force more Western domestic criticism of neoliberalism and globalisation, but will it really? How can it when France’s Muslims, US so-called “White Trash” and their lower-class counterparts across the “West + client” world cannot even be seen on their televisions? We are logical to believe that open criticism of the ideology of globalisation will be muted very shortly, because all these nations have airwaves which are dominated by a handful of corporations; contrarily, the Iranian government owns all the radio and TV waves – to get the outlook of not-always-selfless private media one can turn to Iran’s extremely critical, thriving print press.
Yes, the West’s reduced economies will necessarily reduce the influence and local reach of governments, but this reduced reach can easily be counter-balanced by the drastic quasi-martial laws which have already been employed. France almost certainly has the most over-policed corona lockdown (800,000 citations already), mais bien sûr: they just had an Islamophobia-based two-year state of emergency, which President Emmanuel Macron legalised into normal police practice.
Yes, the gut-wrenching reduction in wealth for the West’s lower classes may provoke “Western-style populism”, but this ideology is intrinsically reformist and not revolutionary. Look at the Five-Star Movement in Italy – it took them eight years to win significant power, but they have not been able to make significant changes. In their last national election the superb Yellow Vests gained merely half the votes of the (ugh) Animal Rights Party.
Yes, Westerners can see that all the evidence points to the necessity that they must change, but we must recall how very culturally chauvinistic they are: The West is hysterically convinced that their system is supreme – even among their “dissidents”, who are usually just “semi-dissidents” at best – despite all the evidence of failure and their perennial disregard of their own lower classes.
So combine this inherent conservativeness (liberal reformism), with neoliberal cultural saturation, with laws that forbid leavening neoliberalism, with “it’s not totalitarian when the West does it”, and it’s hard to compute a conclusion where the Great Lockdown produces a drastic reform of the Western economy, no? They have to overcome all of these trends, laws and false beliefs simultaneously and in great measure.
That would be a revolution. The West, the great thwarter of progressive revolutions, is supposedly now on the cusp of having one?
The only thing more idiotic than such talk are the commentators who accuse Iranian Reformists of being “neoliberals”, which is as stupid as calling Biden-backing Bernie Sanders or the French “socialists”. The Iranians most associated with the “resistance economy” are indeed Ayatollah Khamenei, ex-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Principlist Party, but the idea that Reformists aren’t hugely, hugely on board with countless resistance economy principles is just eye-rollingly wrong.
The reality – well-known in Iran – is that there is absolutely no room in Iranian politics for any political group which pushes ending the pro-99%, government-interventionist, fundamentally anti-neoliberal direction of the economy for this simple fact: they would never get re-elected by the 99%, and thus such a movement is necessarily finished before it could ever even could get started in Iranian democracy. Capitalism is sanctioned by the Qur’an, so it will always have a place, but neoliberal capitalism (again, all capitalism is not “neoliberalism” just as all socialism is not “violently atheistic Russian Soviet socialism”)? Not hardly.
Smith and Ricardo’s liberal ideas that each region should produce only that which it was perfectly suited to producing had one fatal flaw: such perfect harmony cannot possibly ever exist in a capitalist-imperialist system, because such a system is predicated upon competition. This is not a small flaw in their ivory-tower thinking, nor am I resorting to a mere humbug attack on “human nature” – competition, instead of cooperation, is a poor foundation for human stability and peace.
Such harmony and mutually-beneficial arrangements (and on a global scale, no less!) could only possibly ever be achieved in a world that has a basis which is definitely not neoliberal, which is very wary of capitalism’s excesses and constant exhortations to battles both big and small, and which tacitly accepts resolutely anti-imperialist and thus essentially socialist economics as the foundation.
You may not want Iran’s culture – that’s natural, they don’t want yours.
But across the West their lower classes are clamouring for an economy with many of Iran’s motivations and practices – they will be ignored, sadly.
Ramin Mazaheri is the chief correspondent in Paris for Press TV and has lived in France since 2009. He has been a daily newspaper reporter in the US, and has reported from Iran, Cuba, Egypt, Tunisia, South Korea and elsewhere. He is the author of the books ‘I’ll Ruin Everything You Are: Ending Western Propaganda on Red China’ and the upcoming ‘Socialism’s Ignored Success: Iranian Islamic Socialism’.
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV.
Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:
Filed under: China, Corona virus, France, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, The Islamic Republic of Iran, War on Iran | Tagged: Culture and Heritage, Economy of Resistance., equality, Globalist Deep State, Islamic socialism, Islamophobia, Liberal-capitalism vs State Capitalism, Neoliberalism, US President Joe Biden’s administration | Comments Off on The end of globalisation won’t be televised, despite the hopes of the Western 99% (2/2)
Beirut – The martyrdom of Hussein Shalhoub and Sanaa al-Jundi might be just another terminal on the road to bringing down an entire society to its knees. It could be a “mercy shot” against a shrewd project aimed at destroying Lebanon and eliminating its pluralism and civil peace. But the project, which is designed to subjugate Lebanon and force it into taking deals, will not succeed. It will follow in the footsteps of the starvation projects undertaken by the US against the resistance community and implemented by Washington’s proxies in Lebanon and abroad.
From the chaos of stupidity and the mobs, the resistance community emerges. It is as if it has learned lessons after a weeks-long silence during which it watched and analyzed developments in Lebanon and the region. These regional developments and those unfolding in the streets of Beirut and across Lebanon cannot be separated. This is especially true when it comes to the lines of isolation, which are referred to as points of banditry by those taking advantage of the revolution. For those who lived under the “Israeli” occupation, these roadblocks brought back memories of the former security belt crossings, in particular the Beit Yahoun and Hamra ones. They also provoked those who are racing to find solutions to developments in this open battle, which has taken the economic sanctions as its banner.
“The American conspiracy has been exposed,” social activist Hussein Abbas tells al-Ahed news website. “They want to hit the environment of the resistance in Lebanon by relying on the policies of oppression and starvation after they failed to eliminate it during the decades-long wars and military operations. Today, they are rushing to impose an economic blockade on us, to starve us without paying attention to the fact that we are the followers of an Imam who died hungry and thirsty and did not surrender. His banner still flies.
‘I am the resistance, I am the farmer’
Hussein’s position was articulated through his collaboration with a group of young people in Tyre, which led to the launch of an initiative called ‘I am the Resistance, I am the Farmer’. It urges people to return to cultivating their land that they left behind due to the economic policies prevailing in Lebanon starting in the 1990s. The campaign does more than advocate. It also organizes awareness seminars and educational meetings to re-train people on the correct methods of agriculture and varieties of agriculture that can be used during these circumstances.
Abbas points out that the campaign’s follow-up committee produced many brochures, raising awareness about winter cultivars and their suitability with different soil types in the region.
While the campaign focuses on advocating the cultivation of leaf vegetables and vegetables people consume on a daily basis, Abbas puts the campaign’s capabilities at the disposal of anyone wishing to plow lands and orchards and equip them for agriculture. Volunteer agricultural engineers can provide guidance and follow-up.
While the campaign ‘I am the resistance, I am the farmer’ was launched along the coastal area of southern Lebanon, other campaigns launched by southern municipalities were paving their way to the fields, especially the threshing floors of the town of Ainata in the district of Bint Jbeil. The town’s municipality became the headquarters of a group of farmers and specialists in agriculture and the economy who prepared for a long battle against all forms of siege.
Our Threshing Floors Are A Resistance
‘Our Threshing Floors Are A Resistance’ [Bayaderona Moqawema], is a project born out of an idea the municipality of Ainata got from the local community. It is meant to facilitate a return to the roots and the cultivation of lands that were occupied by the “Israeli” enemy and are still under a masked occupation in the form of cluster bombs, desertification and neglect. The head of the Ainata Municipality, Dr. Riad Fadlallah, points out to al-Ahed that the initiative comes at a time of stressful economic conditions marred by fears of staple food shortages.
“This has forced us to seek other sources to secure these staples and to assure our people that we stand by them,” Fadlallah explains.
“The residents suggested planting a variety of grains, mainly wheat, as the main staple of flour. But the municipal council failed to convene, so a decision was made to adopt the idea but with no financial profit,” Fadlallah tells al-Ahed. “Thus, we launched an appeal asking residents to lend their land free of charge for the project. There was a high turnout. This provided us with an incentive to complete the remainder of the main steps, including designating the land that can be used for planting and divided according to the types of agriculture required pending the start of planting season with the first rains.”
“We want to fight desertification, the high cost of living and the possibility of grain shortages,” Fadlallah adds.
“We will turn the threat into opportunity. And we will go back to our roots represented by agriculture with the help of our people, for those who have been accustomed to giving blood will surely give you land to cultivate, let alone material support. This is an incentive to move forward with this project.”
Sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture
Amid the threats and opportunities, Ainata has the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, which is supposed to be the “mother of the boy” in every sense when it comes to agriculture in Lebanon. Hussein al-Saqqa, director of the Agriculture Department in the Nabatieh governorate, believes the town to be a pioneer, since people used to grow on its plantations and eat from its animal products, such as chickens. Today our villages are full of land that is not being utilized. It sits empty all the time. If each person took care of his land and cultivated it, he will be able to secure his annual provisions and save from the household income.
Al-Saqqa calls on people to return to the land for food security. But he also points out that the ministry stands by the experience and the farmers in Lebanon as it has always done through the projects it launched, the projects it took part in with donors or the projects submitted to it by the municipalities.
Ainata’s initiative was soon adopted by surrounding villages and towns, which are fully aware of how to resist and overcome difficult circumstances. Some municipalities have been working for years on a comprehensive development plan with agriculture as a central tool.
The Federation of Jabal Aamel Municipalities is one of those. It did not hesitate in the past to support this sector. It did so through summer agricultural projects, which distribute seedlings free of charge to farmers and other people. It also did it through the launch of projects of thyme and aromatic plants, laying hens and bees, reviving the cultivation of figs and cactus and taking care of olive groves, tobacco and others in various towns and villages.
Ali Taher Yassin, the president of the federation reveals that the union today is introducing to its annual program the cultivation of different types of grains, including wheat. Both types of wheat are being introduced – the kind used for provisions like Burghul and Freek, and the kind used for flour.
“The agricultural department in the federation is preparing a detailed study that will be completed in the coming days to launch the process of planting grain and wheat in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and securing seeds that will contribute to increasing production and achieving economic feasibility,” Yassin said hoping for help from the people and farmers by raising interest in this topic.
Yassin points out that the federation and its municipalities have been able to increase local agricultural production by over 40% in the last ten years. It does not only provide provisions that the people need, but it also maintains health and food security through the consumption of controlled and disease-free organic product.
Yassin concludes by pointing out that while some supporting bodies and organizations stopped their aid to the municipalities, we declare our readiness to provide everything necessary in this regard. Let the whole world see that this nation which triumphed through its resistance with the least available means, will reaffirm its capability to achieve self-sufficiency, again with the least available means.
While the state of readiness is raised before we enter the rainy season, and before the phase of sowing the land with grain begins, the agricultural services center in the town of At Tiri – affiliated to the Federation of Bint Jbeil – continued to distribute wheat seeds for making flour to farmers in various municipalities. By next summer, they will be flour-producing municipalities and seeking self-sufficiency. This will save resistance communities from waiting in queues at bakeries in search for breadcrumbs that the US and its puppets in and outside of Lebanon are trying to take away from those who gave glory to the Cedar country with their blood and did not kneel.
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Filed under: Lebanon | Tagged: American Hegemony, Economy of Resistance., The Zio-temporary entity, US Financial War On Hezbollah | Comments Off on Our Threshing Floors Are A Resistance
نوفمبر 7, 2019
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Filed under: Lebanon, Lebanon Islamic Resistance - Hezbollah, USA | Tagged: Economy of Resistance., Lebanon Corrupt Banking System, Lebanon’s financial collapse, The Axis of Resistance, US Financial War On Hezbollah | Comments Off on خيار المقاومة ليس في أزمة
Syria expresses her freedom in her resistance to Empire. Resistance takes many forms and trajectories, but they all lead to freedom.
Resistance delivers freedom from terrorism, it expresses itself not only when the SAA defeats Western supported terrorists, but also when Syria rebuilds from the ruins.
Resistance and freedom are evident when Syria and Syrians choose their own political economy. Syrians choose President Assad, and he is staying. Syrians choose a secular government and constitution, and they are staying.
Ironically, but predictably, social schisms DID occur in Syria prior to 2011. As Prof. Chossudovsky notes in “SYRIA: NATO’s Next ‘Humanitarian’ War?”,(1) in 2006 Syria adopted economic reforms under IMF guidance (2) which included austerity measures, wage freezes, financial deregulation, trade reforms and privatizations.
This economic poison served Empire well, but not Syria.
However, Syria still has its own public Central Bank, which promises a free and self-determining political economy. Reportedly, even now, Syria has no external debts.
Central Bank of Syria
Syrian society is more equal than its Western counterparts. Everyone is entitled to free education, and everyone is entitled to free healthcare. Access is not limited by a person’s ability to pay. Equal access to healthcare and education also mean that there is more gender equity in Syria than there is in the West.
Interview with Dr. Ayssar Midani
Prior to the war, Syria was largely self-sufficient. She had food security and financial security.
Despite the criminal economic blockade, the criminal occupations, and the terrorism imposed on her, she remains steadfast. Syrians still receive their salaries and they still receive their pensions. The West would prefer that the world remain blind to Syria’s successes, and the West still seeks to destroy these successes of democracy and of political and economic independence.
The task of post-war reconstruction is gargantuan. Here, Syria’s allies, in particular Russia and China, will play a pivotal role, which will further alienate the terrorist-supporting West. Syria will become more economically integrated into Eurasia, and the One Belt One Road initiative. (3)
Syria resists, and Syria rebuilds, so true freedom, which lies submerged in the hearts of us all, will continue to burn brighter and stronger in Syria, for all the world to see.
*
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Mark Taliano is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) and the author of Voices from Syria, Global Research Publishers, 2017. Visit the author’s website at https://www.marktaliano.net where this article was originally published.
Notes
(1) Prof. Michel Chossudovsky, “SYRIA: NATO’s Next ‘Humanitarian’ War?”
ONLINE INTERACTIVE I-BOOK , Global Research, 11 February, 2012 (https://www.globalresearch.ca/syria-nato-s-next-humanitarian-war/29234 ) Accessed 19 September, 2019
(2) “Syrian Arab Republic — IMF Article IV Consultation, Mission’s Concluding Statement,” May 14, 2016.
(https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/28/04/52/mcs051406 ) Accessed 19 September, 2019
(3)Finian Cunningham, “Enter the dragon: China’s crucial role in winning Syria peace” RT, 24 May, 2018. (https://www.rt.com/op-ed/427699-china-syria-business-peace/) Accessed 19 September, 2019.
Order Mark Taliano’s Book “Voices from Syria” directly from Global Research.
Mark Taliano combines years of research with on-the-ground observations to present an informed and well-documented analysis that refutes the mainstream media narratives on Syria.
Voices from Syria ISBN: 978-0-9879389-1-6
Author: Mark Taliano
Year: 2017
Pages: 128 (Expanded edition: 1 new chapter)
List Price: $17.95
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Filed under: Al Qaeda, China, Eurasia, Russia, Takfiris, War on Syria | Tagged: China's "Belt and Road" BRI, Economy of Resistance., Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Nusra Front), Sanctions against Syria, Syria Reconstruction, Syrian Arab Army SAA | Comments Off on Syria Expresses Its Freedom Through Resistance
July 9, 2019
The US Treasury placed two Hezbollah members of Lebanon’s parliament on its sanctions blacklist on Tuesday — the first time Washington has taken aim at the party’s elected politicians.
The Treasury named the head of the Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc Hajj Mohammad Raad and MP Amin Sherri to a ‘terror-related’ blacklist, claiming that Hezbollah uses its parliamentary power to advance its alleged ‘violent’ activities.
Also placed on the blacklist was Hajj Wafiq Safa, Hezbollah top security official.
Hezbollah is a Lebanese resistance group that defends the nation against the Israeli and takfiri enemies. Because of its huge popular representation, it managed to have a 13-member parliamentary bloc, mainly tasked with securing the socioeconomic rights of the citizens and advocating the resistance political principles.
The US administration, which supports the Zionist entity and the Arab dictators against the will of most of the Muslims and Arabs, has always viewed Hezbollah resistance as an enemy, blacklisting both its military and political wings.
Source: Al-Manar English Website and AFP
Filed under: Lebanon, Lebanon Islamic Resistance - Hezbollah, USA | Tagged: AngloZionist Empire, Economic Terrorism, Economy of Resistance., US Lies | Comments Off on US Sanctions Hezbollah Elected Parliamentarians
February 13, 2019
by Peter Koenig for The Saker Blog
The Forth International Conference for “The Equilibrium of the World” took place in Havana., Cuba from 28 to 31 January 2019. The Conference, organized by the José Marti Project of International Solidarity, was sponsored by UNESCO and a number of local and international organisms and NGOs. It coincided with the 60th Anniversary of the Cuban Revolution and as such was also a celebration of that successful demonstration to the world that socialism, solidarity and love for live can actually survive against all odds – and, yes, Cuba, has faced more hardship than any other country in recent history, through boycotts, embargoes and all sorts of economic sanctions, heinous military infiltrations and assassination attempts, initiated by the United States and followed, largely under threats from Washington, by most of the western world.
Viva Cuba! – A celebration well deserved – and in the name of José Marti, who was born 166 years ago, but whose thoughts and spiritual thinking for a new world are as valid today as they were then. They may perhaps best be summarized as love, solidarity, justice, living well for all and in peace. These principles were taken over by Fidel and Raul Castro, the Che and Hugo Chávez. They transcend current generations and reach far beyond Latin America.
The conference had many highlights; brilliant speakers; a torch march was organized at the University of Havana in honor of José Marti; and the organizers offered the participants an extraordinary music and modern ballet performance at the National Theater.
From my point of view some of the important messages came from the representative of China, who talked about the New Silk Road, or the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), of building bridges and connecting countries and people, whereas the west was building walls. A Russian speaker sadly admitted that it took his government a long time and relentless trying to build alliances with the west – until they realized, relatively recently, that the west could not be trusted. Professor Adan Chavez Frias Chavez, Hugo’s brother, described an invasive history over the past 100 years by the United States of Latin America and called upon the brother nations of the Americas and the world to bond together in solidarity to resist the empire’s infringement and steady attempts to subjugate sovereign nations – with a vision towards a multipolar world of equals, of sovereign nations living together in peaceful relations.
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My own presentation focused on Economy of Resistance. And what a better place than Cuba to talk about economy of resistance! Impossible. Cuba has a 60-year history of successful resistance against a massive embargo, ordered by Washington and followed by almost the entire western world, thus demonstrating that the west has been reduced to a US colony. This was true already during the Cold War, but became even clearer when the Soviet Union “fell”. Here too, the west, led by Washington, was instrumental in the collapse of the USSR – but that’s another story – and the US grabbed the opportunity to become the emperor of a unipolar world. Cuban troops also resisted and conquered the attempted US Bay of Pigs (Playa Girón) invasion launched by President Kennedy in 1961 – and not least, Fidel Castro survived more than 600 CIA initiated assassination attempts.
The principles of Economy of Resistance cover a vast domain of topics with many ramifications. This presentation focused on four key areas:
On food, health and education sovereignty – Cuba is 100% autonomous, as far health and education go.
However, Cuba imports more than 70% of the food her citizens consume and that, at present, mostly from the European Union. Cuba has the capacity and agricultural potential to become not only fully self-sufficient, but to develop and process agricultural produce into an agricultural industry and become a net exporter of agricultural goods.
This process might be addressed as a priority policy issue. However, it will take some time to fully implement. Meanwhile, it may be wise to diversify imports from other parts of the world than the EU – i.e. Russia, China, Central Asia, friendly ALBA countries – because Europe is not trustworthy. They tell you today, they will always honor your purchasing contracts, but if the empire strikes down with sanctions – as they did recently for anyone doing business with Iran, Cuba may be “cooked”.
Spineless Europe will bend to the orders of Washington. They have demonstrated this time and again, not least with Iran, despite the fact that they signed the so-called Nuclear Deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, on 14 July 2015 (the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – the United States, UK, Russia, France, and China—plus Germany and the EU – and Iran), after which Obama lifted all sanctions with Iran – only to have Trump break the agreement and reimpose the most draconian sanctions on Iran and on enterprises doing business with Iran. The US government, and by association Europe, does not adhere to any agreement, or any international law, for that matter, when it doesn’t suit them. There are plenty of indications – Venezuela today, to be followed by Nicaragua and Cuba. These should be valid signals for Cuba to diversify her food imports until full self-sufficiency is achieved.
Already in 2014, Mr. Putin said the ‘sanctions’ were the best thing that could have happened to Russia. It forced her to revamp her agriculture and rebuild her industrial parks with the latest technology – to become fully independent from imports. Today, sanctions are a mere propaganda tool of the west, but they have hardly an impact on Russia. Russia has become the largest wheat exporter in the world. – Cuba could do likewise. She has the agricultural potential to become fully food-autonomous.
On Economic and financial sovereignty – four facets are being addressed. The first one, foreign investments, Cuba may want to focus on (i) technology; (ii) assuring that a majority of the investment shares remains Cuban; (iii) using to the extent possible Cuba’s own capital (reserves) for investments. Foreign capital is bound to certain conditionalities imposed by foreign investors, thus, it bears exchange rate and other risks, to the point where potential profits from foreign assets are usually discounted by between 10% and 20%; and (iv) last but not least, Cuba ought to decide on the sectors for foreign investors – NOT the foreign investor.
| Following scenario, as propagated by opposition lawyer and economist, Pablo de Cuba, in Miami, should be avoided: “Cuba cedes a piece of her conditions of sovereignty and negotiates with foreign investors; puts a certain amount of discounted debt at the creditors’ disposal, so as to attract more investments in sectors that they, the investors choose, for the internal development of Cuba.” |
As the hegemony of the US dollar is used to strangle any country that refuses to bend to the empire, a progressive dedollarization is of the order, meaning, in addition to the US dollar itself, move progressively away from all currencies that are intimately linked to the US dollar, i.e. Canadian and Australian dollars, Euro, Yen, Pound Sterling – and more. This is a strategy to be pursued in the short- and medium term, for the protection against more sanctions dished out by the US and its spineless allies.
Simultaneously, a rapprochement towards other monetary systems, for example in the east, especially based on the Chinese gold-convertible Petro-Yuan, may be seriously considered. Russia and China, and in fact the entire SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization), have already designed a monetary transfer system circumventing the western SWIFT system, which has every transaction channeled through and controlled by a US bank. This is the key motive for economic and financial sanctions. There is no reason why Cuba could not (gradually but pointedly) join such an alternative system, to move out of the western claws of embargo. The SCO members today encompass about half of the world population and control one third of the globe’s GDP.
Drawbacks would be that the import markets would have to be revisited and diversified, unless western suppliers would accept to be paid in CUC, or Yuan through a system different from SWIFT. Moving away from the western monetary transfer system may also impact remittances from Cubans living in the US and elsewhere in the west (about US$ 3.4 billion – 2017 – less than 4% of GDP). It would mean departing from monetary transactions in the Euro and European monetary zones.
Be aware – the future is in the East. The West is committing slowly but steadily suicide.
Another crucial advice is – stay away from IMF, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), World Trade Organization (WTO) – and the like. They are so-called international financial and trade organizations, all controlled by the US and her western “allies” – and tend to enslave their clients with debt.
| Case in Point – Mexico: President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO), a leftist, has little margin to maneuver Mexico’s economy, inherited from his neoliberal predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto. Mexico’s finances are shackled by the international banking system, led by the IMF, FED, WB and by association, the globalized Wall Street system. For example, AMLO intended to revive PEMEX, the petroleum state enterprise. The IMF told him that he first had to “financially sanitize” PEMEX, meaning putting PEMEX through a severe austerity program. The banking community agreed. In case AMLO wouldn’t follow their “advice”, they might strangle his country. |
The CUC versus the Peso, a dual monetary system (CUC 1 = CuP 25.75), has also been used by China up to the mid-80s and by Germany after WWI, to develop export / import markets. However, there comes a time when the system could divide the population between those who have access to foreign currencies (CUC-convertible), and those who have no such access.
Also, the convertibility of the CUC with the Euro, Swiss franc, Pound Sterling and Yen, make the CUC, de facto, convertible with the dollar – hence, the CUC is dollarized. This is what Washington likes, to keep Cuba’s economy, despite the embargo, in the orbit of the dollar hegemony which will be used in an attempt to gradually integrate Cuba into the western, capitalist economy. – However, Washington will not succeed. Cuba is alert and has been resisting for the last 60 years.
The Fifth Column – refers to clandestine and / or overt infiltration of opposing and enemy elements into the government. They come in the form of NGOs, US-CIA trained local or foreigners to destabilize a country – and especially a country’s economy – from inside.
There are ever more countries that do not bend to the dictate of the empire and are targets for Fifth Columns – Russia, China, Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Pakistan and more – and Cuba?
| The term, “Fifth Column” is attributed to General Emilio Mola, who during the Spanish civil war in 1936, informed his homologue, General Francisco Franco, that he has four columns of troops marching towards Madrid, and that they would be backed by a “fifth column”, hidden inside the city. With the support of this fifth column he expected to finish with (the legitimate) Republican government. |
The process of “infiltration” is becoming ever more sophisticated, bolder and acting with total impunity. Perhaps the most (in)famous organization to foment Fifth Columns around the world, among many others, is the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the extended arm of the CIA. It goes as a so-called NGO, or ‘foreign policy thinktank’ which receives hundreds of millions of dollars from the State Department to subvert non-obedient countries’ governments, bringing about regime change through infiltration of foreign trained, funded and armed disruptive forces, sowing social unrest and even “civil wars”. Cases in point are Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia, Libya – and more – and now they attempt to topple Venezuela’s legitimate, democratically elected Government of Nicolás Maduro.
They work through national and international NGOs and even universities in the countries to be ‘regime changed’. Part of this ‘Infiltration” is a massive propaganda campaign and intimidation on so-called allies, or client states. The process to reach regime change may take years and billions of dollars. In the case of Ukraine, it took at least 5 years and 5 billion dollars. In Venezuela, the process towards regime change started some 20 years ago, as soon as Hugo Chavez was elected President in 1998. It brought about a failed coup in 2002 and was followed by ever increasing economic sanctions and physical military threats. Earlier this year, Washington was able to intimidating almost all of Europe and a large proportion of Latin America into accepting a US-trained implant, a Trump puppet, Juan Guaidó, as the interim president, attempting to push the true legitimate Maduro Government aside.
To put impunity to its crest, the Trump Government blocked 12 billion dollars of Venezuela’s foreign reserves in NY bank accounts and transferred the authority of access to the money to the illegitimate self-appointed interim president, Juan Guaidó. Along the same lines, the UK refused to return 1.2 billion dollars-worth of Venezuelan gold to Caracas. All these criminal acts would not be possible without the inside help, i.e. the “Fifth Column”, the members of which are often not readily identifiable.
It is not known, how often the empire attempted ‘regime change’ in Cuba. However, none of these attempts were successful. The Cuban Revolution will not be broken.
Water resources – is a Human Right and a vital component of an economy of resistance.
Water resources will be more precious in the future than petrol. The twin satellites GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) discovered the systematic depletion of groundwater resources throughout the world, due to over-exploitation and massive contamination from agriculture and industrial waste. Examples, among many, are the northern Punjab region in India with massive, inefficient irrigation; and in Peru the Pacific coastal region, due to inefficient irrigation, unretained runoff rain- and river water into the Pacific Ocean, and destruction of entire watersheds through mining.
Privatization of water resources, not only of drinking water and water for irrigation, but of entire aquifers, is becoming an increasing calamity for the peoples of our planet. Again, with impunity, giant water corporations, led by France, the UK and the US are gradually and quietly encroaching on the diminishing fresh water resources, by privatizing them, so as to make water a commodity to be sold at “market prices”, manipulated by the water giants, hence, depriving ready access to drinking water to an ever-growing mass of increasingly impoverished populations, victims of globalized neoliberal economies. For example, Nestlé and Coca Cola have negotiated with former Brazilian President Temer, and now with Bolsonaro, a 100-year concession over the Guaraní aquiver, the largest known, renewable freshwater underground resource, 74% of which is under Brazil. Bolsonaro has already said, he would open up the Amazon area for private investors. That could mean privatization of the world’s largest pool of fresh water – the Amazon basin.
Economic Resistance means – Water is a Human Right and is part of a country’s sovereignty; water should NEVER be privatized.
For Cuba rainwater – on average about 1,300 mm / year – is the only resource of fresh water. Cuba, like most islands, is vulnerable to rainwater runoff, estimated at up to 80%. There are already water shortages during certain times of the year, resulting in droughts in specific regions. Small retention walls may help infiltrate rainwater into the ground, and at the same time regulate irrigation, provide drinking water and possibly generate electricity for local use through small hydroelectric plants.
The National Water Resources Institute (INRH – Instituto Nacional de Recursos Hidráulicos), is aware of this issue and is formulating a forward-looking water strategy and planning the construction of infrastructure works to secure a countrywide water balance.
Other challenges include the hygienic reuse and evacuation of waste water, as well as in the medium to long run an island-wide Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).
In Conclusion, Economic Resistance might be summarized as follows:
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Filed under: American Empire, China, multipolar world, The Islamic Republic of Iran | Tagged: American Empire, China's "Belt and Road" BRI, CUBA, Economy of Resistance., NGOs, SCO, Silk Road, Venezuela-Cuba axis | Comments Off on Cuba – “The Equilibrium of the World” – and Economy of Resistance
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UPROOTED PALESTINIANS: SALAM ALQUDS ALAYKUM 