Uprooted Palestinians are at the heart of the conflict in the M.E Palestinians uprooted by force of arms. Yet faced immense difficulties have survived, kept alive their history and culture, passed keys of family homes in occupied Palestine from one generation to the next.
Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari has affirmed that the statements made on Syria last Monday by James Jeffrey, an employee at the U.S Department of State, are irresponsible and misleading and they are just an attempt to cover the U.S. crimes and violations against the sovereignty, independence and safety of the Syrian territories and against the security, peace and prosperity of the Syrian people, saying that Syria demands that the U.S. Government immediately and unconditionally lift all the unilateral coercive economic measures imposed on it.
In a letter sent to the UN Secretary General and the President of the Security Council, al-Jaafari asserted that the statements made by Jeffry reflect the continuity of the policy of denial and stubbornness by a government which can’t be depended on in playing any humanitarian and international role in fighting the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Al-Jaafari said that since the year 1979, the U.S has been imposing a wide series of unilateral economic coercive measures on Syria, whose impact have been aggravating from nine years till today as the previous and the current U.S. administrations have issued eight executive orders on tightening the economic siege on the Syrian people and imposing new unprecedented punitive measures on the sectors of banking, energy, investment, import, export, communications and the air, sea and land transport with the aim of depriving the Syrians of their basic rights.
Al-Jaafari reviewed the most important direct and indirect impacts of those measures such as the decline in Syria’s ranking in the Human Development Index to the list of the least developed countries “Human Development Report 2016”, in addition to leaving dangerous repercussions even on the process of delivering humanitarian aid and undermining the ability of the Syrian people to meet their basic needs and affecting the ability of the Syrian Government to provide the basic needs of its citizens, particularly in the energy sector.
He added that in light of the global pandemic due to the outbreak of the coronavirus (covid-19), Syria is facing an additional pressure and new challenges in fighting this dangerous pandemic which imposes on the Syrian Government to provide the basic infrastructure and the necessary potentials for the health sector.
Al-Jaafari asserted that the hostile policies adopted by the U.S. government against the Syrian people can be only considered as a direct and flagrant violation of the UN Charter and of the principles of the international law and the international humanitarian law and the Security Council’s relevant violations, and despite of the dangerous threats imposed by this global pandemic, today the U.S. continues to impose unilateral coercive economic measures on Syria which proves that this government doesn’t care about the humanitarian considerations or the international calls.
Al-Jaafari said that Syria demands the U.S government to immediately and unconditionally lift all the unilateral coercive economic measures imposed on it, particularly on the sectors of banking, oil, energy and the air, sea and land transport in a way that would allow the free flow of materials and medical equipment in particular, and would enhance Syria’s ability to tackle this pandemic and to prevent its spread.
He added that Syria also calls for the withdrawal of the US occupation troops from all the Syrian territories, particularly the oil and gas fields and to allow the Syrian Government to regain its control over these areas and to start the reconstruction and to rehabilitate the oil and gas plants and to use their resources for the interest of the Syrian people exclusively.
Al-Jaafari stressed that the Syrian government preserves the right to hold the American government and its partners within the framework of the so-called “international coalition” legal, moral and financial responsibility for the destruction of the cities of Raqqa, Deir Ezzor, Ayn Al-Arab, Hajin and other areas in Syria, in addition to holding them responsible for targeting the Syrian Infrastructures, which led to their total or partial destruction, including roads, bridges, electric power stations, oil and gas wells, and supply routes.
Concluding the letter, al-Jaafari said ” The government of the Syrian Arab Republic affirms that it has mobilized all of its available human, medical and food resources to serve all the Syrians wherever they are in the face of this global pandemic, and it highly appreciates the stances and statements recently made by the UN Secretary General in which he called for putting an end to the unilateral coercive economic measures imposed on many of the world’s peoples including the Syrian people, and the Syrian Government affirms that any collective and international effort for curbing the spread of this dangerous pandemic can’t be accomplished in light of the continuity of the policy of imposing economic siege by some governments including the U.S on more than two billion people in our world.”
يظنّ الكثيرون، بسبب الدعاية المشوّهة وقلة المتابعة، أن إجراء التأميم هو خطوة اشتراكية، لا يمكن حدوثها في النظام الرأسمالي القائم على الاقتصاد الحر ومعايير اقتصاد السوق، لأنه لا يعلم أن إجراءات التأميم الأقرب لزماننا، حدثت في دول الرأسمالية العريقة، أميركا وبريطانيا وفرنسا، قبل اثنتي عشر سنة فقط، عندما طال المصارف في هذه الدول التأميم الجزئي أو الكلي، جواباً على التعسر العام الذي وقع فيه الاقتصاد العالمي، والأميركي والأوروبي خصوصاً عام 2008، ذلك أن التأميم لا يعني المصادرة، ولا وضع اليد على الملكية الخاصة، التي لا تمثل في حال المصارف إلا ملكية الرأسمال من قبل أصحاب المصارف؛ بينما ما تملكه المصارف، فهو ملك تضامني للمودعين، سواء كان بصيغة موجودات عقارية، أو سندات دين ورهونات. وعندما تقع المصارف في سوء الإدارة، فتعجز عن تلبية حقوق مودعيها، لأنها لم تقم بواجباتها المهنية، بسبب طغيان الطمع والجشع، فسمحت بتراكم استثماراتها في الديون غير المؤكدة التحصيل، ما تسبب بعجزها عن الإيفاء بحاجات المودعين، تتدخل الدولة، فتعزل الإدارة، وتمنع الرواتب المتضخمة وموازنات الإنفاق المترفة للمدراء، وتتخذ الإجراءات التي تضمن إعادة رسملة وهيكلة المصارف، وتمنع وضع اليد على الرهونات العقارية، وهو ما تلجأ إليه المصارف عادة لمحاولة الترسمل السريع وتفادي الأزمة، رغم تهديده للآلاف والملايين من الأسر بالتشرد وخسارة منازلها، وتحول دون تحول الإدارة المصرفية إلى وحش يتغول بالوكالة عن الاقتصاد الحر وباسمه ليبتلع المجتمع ويتسبب بالإفقار والتجويع والتشرد.
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ما يجري في لبنان مشابه تماماً، لما جرى في أوروبا وأميركا عام 2008، مع اختلاف في وجهة المخاطرة في محفظة الديون التي حملتها المصارف وتسببت بتعريض حقوق ومصالح المودعين للخطر، فبدلا من سوق الرهن العقاري التضخمية لجأت مصارف لبنان للاستثمار في سندات دين الدولة التضخمية، والسبب واحد وهو الجشع، والنتيجة واحدة، هي الانهيار، والتفسير واحد هو انعدام المسؤولية المهنية، والإخلال بالأمانة التي توجبها أموال الناس وحسن رعايتها، ولا يغيّر من ذلك أبداً ما يقوله أصحاب المصارف، والسياسيون الذين يتبعون لهم، والإعلاميون الذين يسوقون لهم، عن مسؤولية الطبقة السياسية، فالشراكة في الجريمة تطال الفريقين بالتكافل والتضامن، ولذلك يهب أحدهما لنجدة الآخر ويتحمس أحدهما للدفاع عن الآخر. وعملية تهريب الأموال إلى الخارج يقوم بها أحدهما لحساب الآخر، بينما ينتظر من هذا الآخر الحماية، وتدفيع الناس ثمن إعادة رسملة المصارف، عبر فرض وصفات صندوق النقد الدولي، التي تفرض رفع سعر صفيحة البنزين إلى خمسين ألف ليرة، والضريبة على القيمة المضافة إلى 20%، وصرف 40% من موظفي الدولة، وسواها من إجراءات التجويع، لتؤمن الدولة مالاً تسدد به ديونها للمصارف، فيتمكنون من العودة للوفاء بالتزاماتهم للمودعين.
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في الحالة الأميركية والأوروبية تم التأميم الكلي والجزئي عبر شراء قسري فرضته قوانين لنسب مقررة من أسهم المصارف تتيح السيطرة على قرارها، مقابل ضخ أموال فيها، وفرض قيود على طريقة إدارتها من موقع القانون، وما ضمنه التأميم بموجب القانون. وفي لبنان طالما أن الدولة هي صاحبة الديون التي تطلبها المصارف، فالتأميم يقوم على ركيزتين مختلفتين عن ضخ الأموال، تستلزمان قانوناً، الأولى هي قيام الدولة عبر هيئة مصرفية مستقلة تقوم بتشكيلها بموجب القانون، بتحديد أسعار شراء أسهم مقررة في البنوك الكبرى، وتحديد أسعار شراء هذه البنوك للأصغر منها لدمجها بها، والثانية هي، بدلاً من ضخ الأموال تتم رسملة البنوك المشتراة حصصها الرئيسية من الدولة، عبر احتساب نسبة ملكية لأسهم في شركات تستثمر ملكيات الدولة ذات الطبيعة الإنتاجية لمدد تتراوح بين 25 و49 سنة، مثل حقوق استثمار المطار والمرفأ وشركات الاتصالات والكازينو والميدل إيست والأملاك البحرية والنهرية والكهرباء، كمساهمة للدولة في رأسمال هذه المصارف، واحتساب نسبة من ودائع كبار المودعين عند سقف تقرّره الهيئة، بأسهم من ملكية البنوك ومبادلتهم لنسب أخرى من ودائعهم بموجودات البنوك العقارية، بحيث تتقارب قيمة الرأسمال الجديد من نسبة جيدة معيارياً من الودائع، وتتم عملية شراء الديون المترتبة على الدولة من قبل الدولة نفسها بعد اعتبارها ديوناً هالكة بأسعار تقررها الهيئة. وبعدما باتت الدولة صاحب الأسهم الرئيسية للبنوك، يحفظ لأصحاب رأسمالها ما لهم من أموال تعادل أسهماً بنسب جديدة غير مقررة في البنوك، وهذا هو سقف حقوقهم في الاقتصاد الحر، كما تقول تجربة الدول المثالية في تطبيقه.
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بعد هذا التأميم بسنتين أو ثلاث سنوات، تقوم الدولة ببيع أسهمها في البنوك التي تقلص عددها وتغيرت إدارتها، والتي تبقى مالكة لأسهم في شركات الدولة الاستثمارية، بينما ملكية الأصول في ثروات الدولة السيادية باقية للدولة، ويكون الدين على الدولة أقل من نصفه اليوم، والودائع أقل من نصفها، مقابل ترسمل حقيقي في البنوك وضمان حقيقي للودائع.
A senior German politician on Friday accused the Trump administration of “modern piracy” after nearly 200,000 face masks ordered by Germany were seized by US authorities.
Andreas Geisel, the interior minister for Berlin state, confirmed media reports that about 200,000 FFP2 masks purchased for the Berlin police were seized at an airport in the Thai capital Bangkok following intervention by American authorities.
“We view this as an act of modern piracy,” he said in a written statement, stressing that such behavior between transatlantic partners is unacceptable.
“Even in times of global crisis there should be no wild west methods. I am urging the [German] federal government to demand the US respect international rules,” he added.
According to German public broadcaster RBB, Berlin had purchased the masks from U.S. company 3M, which has factories in China.
The shipment destined for Germany was stopped at the Bangkok airport following intervention by American authorities and was diverted to the U.S., local media reported.
US criticized by France and Canada
French politicians have also recently accused the US of buying up medical protective gear including face masks in China that had been meant for France.
Valerie Pecresse, president of the hard-hit Ile-de-France region, said this week that a shipment of protective masks were snatched at the last minute by “Americans who made a higher bid,” French news agency AFP reported.
“The Americans pay cash sight unseen, which obviously can be more tempting for people just looking to make money off the entire world’s distress,” she said. Pecresse did not give further details on the buyers.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday he felt “concerned” by a report that a mask order arrived smaller than expected and that some of it was bought by “a higher bidder.”
“We understand that the needs in the US are very extensive, but it’s the same in Canada, so we have to work together,” Trudeau said.
Most countries worldwide, unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic, don’t have the capacity to manufacture the millions of masks needed on a daily basis for health workers alone.
Many governments are turning to China and other Asian manufactures to meet the demands for medical gear.
Head of Palestinian resistance group Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, warned the Zionist entity if more ventilators for coronavirus patients were not brought into the Palestinian enclave then the group will “take them by force.”
“If ventilators are not brought into [Gaza], we’ll take them by force from ‘Israel’ and stop the breathing of 6 million ‘Israelis’,” Sinwar threatened, Hebrew media reported.
Sinwar also highlighted Hamas’s efforts to contain the virus outbreak in Gaza, saying, “When we decided to establish compulsory quarantine facilities for people returning to Gaza, we knew that it would be a difficult decision that would cause a lot of criticism against us.”
“It’s our first line of defense. We can’t allow the epidemic into Gaza,” he added, according to ‘Israeli’ Channel 12.
Sinwar further accused the Zionist regime of not allowing medicines into Gaza, vowing that he wouldn’t return the captured ‘Israeli’ soldiers’ bodies until medical supplies came in.
A senior German politician on Friday accused the Trump administration of “modern piracy” after nearly 200,000 face masks ordered by Germany were seized by US authorities.
Andreas Geisel, the interior minister for Berlin state, confirmed media reports that about 200,000 FFP2 masks purchased for the Berlin police were seized at an airport in the Thai capital Bangkok following intervention by American authorities.
“We view this as an act of modern piracy,” he said in a written statement, stressing that such behavior between transatlantic partners is unacceptable.
“Even in times of global crisis there should be no wild west methods. I am urging the [German] federal government to demand the US respect international rules,” he added.
According to German public broadcaster RBB, Berlin had purchased the masks from U.S. company 3M, which has factories in China.
The shipment destined for Germany was stopped at the Bangkok airport following intervention by American authorities and was diverted to the U.S., local media reported.
US criticized by France and Canada
French politicians have also recently accused the US of buying up medical protective gear including face masks in China that had been meant for France.
Valerie Pecresse, president of the hard-hit Ile-de-France region, said this week that a shipment of protective masks were snatched at the last minute by “Americans who made a higher bid,” French news agency AFP reported.
“The Americans pay cash sight unseen, which obviously can be more tempting for people just looking to make money off the entire world’s distress,” she said. Pecresse did not give further details on the buyers.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday he felt “concerned” by a report that a mask order arrived smaller than expected and that some of it was bought by “a higher bidder.”
“We understand that the needs in the US are very extensive, but it’s the same in Canada, so we have to work together,” Trudeau said.
Most countries worldwide, unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic, don’t have the capacity to manufacture the millions of masks needed on a daily basis for health workers alone.
Many governments are turning to China and other Asian manufactures to meet the demands for medical gear.
BEIRUT, LEBANON (2:20 P.M.) – The spokesperson for the Libyan National Army (LNA), Major-General Ahmad Al-Mismari, announced on Thursday that the death toll for the Turkish-backed Syrian mercenaries had reached 500 after more than four months of fighting.
Over the past week alone, the Syrian mercenaries have suffered dozens of casualties at the hands of the Libyan National Army.
Many of these casualties in the ranks of the Syrian mercenaries came as a result of the Libyan National Army’s rapid advance through the southern outskirts of Tripoli, which has since come under the control of LNA.
While the LNA reports 500 Syrian mercenaries killed, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) contrasts these figures; instead, they claim approximately 150 of these militants have died in the past four months.
Despite the large deviation in numbers, it still remains that the deployment of Syrian mercenaries to Libya has been a major failure, as they have been unable to slow down the LNA’s large-scale advance across the northwestern region of the country.
The first Syrian mercenaries arrived in Libya at the end of December. Since then, Turkey has transported a large number of them to the North African country, despite territorial losses in Syria’s northwestern region.
Syrian Army positions in the town of Saraqib came under joint shelling from the Turkish Army and Turkish-backed armed groups late on April 1. Strikes were carried out from the area of Almastumah, where Turkish military positions are located. The April 1 incident became the second attack on Syrian Army troops in the area in the last 3 days.
At the same time, Turkish forces continue their military buildup in the Idlib de-escalation zone. Two more convoys with armoured vehicles and artillery pieces crossed the border into Syria. Before the start of Ankara’s Operation Spring Shield in February 2020, the number of Turkish troops in Idlib was estimated at 5,000. Syrian sources say that by April 2020 this number reached 7,000.
And there are no indications that Turkey is going to use this force to put an end to the presence of al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups in the region. Rather, it sees these groups as important allies and the pillar of its policy aimed at strengthening its control over northwestern Syria and turning it into a quasi-state under a Turkish protectorate.
Just recently, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, one of the groups that Turkish forces protect from the Syrian Army, executed a civilian accusing him of spying for Syrian government forces. 68-year Rifaat Mahmoud al-Daqqah, a former member of the Syrian Parliament, was detained by militants in May 2019. Terrorists claimed that he was providing the Syrian military with information on terrorists’ positions in the southwestern part of Greater Idlib, mainly around the town of Kabani.
Al-Daqqah, originally from the town of al-Janoudiyah, abandoned his position in the Syrian Parliament in 2011, in the early days of the crisis. Back then, militants pressured many officials and service members to defect by threatening their lives, families and businesses.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other Idlib groups regularly arrest and execute civilians, accusing them of spying for Syria, Russia or Iran. In most cases, they do not bother to support these claims with any evidence, rather they use such claims as a pretext to terrorize and subjugate the local population.
These atrocities happen right under the nose of Turkish observation posts, which have supposedly been set up by the Turkish military to restore security in the region. Nonetheless, it seems that Ankara has no problem with the execution of civilians, training of suicide bombers, arming of al-Qaeda-affiliated groups or public calls to cleanse a majority of the population living in the government-controlled part of Syria as long as organizations doing this serve its foreign policy interests.
On April 1, Brig. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, paid an unofficial visit to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. He reportedly met with several influential Iraqi commanders and politicians, discussing with them the current security and political situation in Iraq. In March Brig. Gen. Ghaani visited Syria, where he inspected the frontlines in the northern province of Aleppo.
Ghaani succeeded former Quds Force commander Brig. Gen. Qassam Soleimani, who was assassinated in a US strike on Baghdad Airport in January 2020. His visit to Iraq comes amid the ongoing US effort to regroup its forces in Iraq and reinforce them with Patriot air defense systems. Two Patriot batteries are already there.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump announced that the US has “information” and “belief” that “Iran or its proxies are planning a sneak attack on U.S. troops and/or assets in Iraq.” Top US officials often make such claims before conducting strikes on targets affiliated with Iran and/or before announcing a new round of sanctions.
No country in the world is expecting to be spared and every country except perhaps China, South Korea, and some Asian countries, is waiting to reach the “explosion” level, the peak which represents the highest death rate of COVID-19, known as Coronavirus, after which the curve of new casualties will start sliding down. This is when world leaders will have to make the decision for most societies to regain normality even though the virus will still be around for many months to come. Precautionary procedures of high sanitation standards and social distancing will always be advised, particularly among the elderly and the most affected people. Still, the economy needs to return to its ordinary course sooner or later, notwithstanding the enormous losses.
On the 10th of March, the Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the city of Wuhan, in the province of Hubei, the centre of the coronavirus outbreak and declared that the situation was under control: “success has been achieved in stabilising the situation and turning the tide in Hubei and Wuhan”, he said. The Chinese President never mentioned the virus was over but that COVID-19 was under control. China has accepted its casualties and will be able to deal with the flow of new cases and will no longer be subject to a flood of severe cases being rushed to hospitals and overwhelming medical staff.
In fact, this is what European leaders will have to decide between the month of May (for some businesses most crucial to the economy) and the month of June (for all others). It will depend on which countries reach the Coronavirus explosion level and start to come down the curve to reach a much lower level of dozens of casualties per day, rather than the hundreds and thousands, happening in the US and Europe right now.
Governments cannot afford irreparable damage to their domestic economies and will have to call for a return to productivity. The population can’t afford to be at home for so many regularly prolonged two-week quarantine periods. This is the period that was initially imposed on the community at the outset, and it seems it will be renewed regularly until casualties are reduced.
The loss of income to families and individuals is so far estimated at between $860 billion and $3.4 trillion worldwide. The losses to the travel industry are estimated at between $30 to $60 billion. Failure of trade in goods and services will amount to $320 billion per quarter of trade disruption.
Many people relied on part-time earnings with little savings and were caught by surprise in this pandemic crisis. But societies will eventually be happy to return to work with COVID-19 around and live with it. The reason is simple: no medicine will be available before the end of the year 2020. Therefore, there would be no point in imposing an endless quarantine that lasts until a solution for the Coronavirus is found- particularly when most scientists estimate that COVID-19 may infect between 80% and 85% of the population but are either unaware or only showing mild symptoms. These have an immune system capable of fighting the virus and could return to be productive in their respective societies. Having faced and dealt with the tsunami of cases rushing to hospitals, the medical staff, after the slowing down of the number of cases, will be able to offer medical support to newly infected people.
The elderly and the young, and persons with critical medical history (obesity, heart attacks, cholesterol, pulmonary infections, high blood pressure, and inadequate immune systems) will be still asked to minimise their movements. Their families and friends will also be recommended to take the necessary precautions when meeting each other and those prone to the virus in order to avoid being the contributor transmitting the virus to them. Governments will have the time to provide enough tests for the entire population and to improve their medical systems and equipment so as to avoid future flooding of hospitals and the exhaustion of the medical personnel (which is what is happening today in many countries reaching the explosion of the virus spread).
Distance learning and working from home will be developed: the world is quite likely to be exposed to other, future viruses or the return of the COVID-19 before an antidote is found. Imposing quarantine with every new virus would mean the population spending years at home: the economy would never recover.
During the spread of the pandemic, people acknowledged that their dear ones were dying, or would die, and that little could be done to defeat this unknown virus. Also, due to their fear for their own lives, people were forced to accept the fact that their national medical system had failed them, even in the most advanced western societies (Europe, Canada, Australia and the United States of America) or on any other continent. The population faced the possibility of not being able to be present at funerals to mourn their relatives and bury them- for fear for their own lives. And President Donald Trump believes that the prospect of 200,000 Americans deceased from Coronavirus represents “a good job” for his administration in containing the pandemic.
Once the storm has abated, people will want to question their leaders about their performance and the failure of planning to prevent the arrival of the worst-case scenario. Societies will criticise the reasons offered during the explosion of the pandemic why not enough tests were made available to all people to rapidly prevent the deterioration of all the individual cases. No country was indeed prepared for such a Tsunami: thousands of cases with weak immune systems being rushed simultaneously to hospitals. Also, no hospital in the world could provide enough beds to accommodate the tens of thousands of cases. There was a shortage of respiratory systems to meet the numbers involved and save lives.
These handicaps had to be accepted during the outbreak of the virus. However, many leaders will have to be held accountable, and even disappear, once the panic dissipates. It is just unacceptable that developed countries spend hundreds of billions of taxpayers’ money on warfare, waging wars overseas or investing in sending military troops abroad, but fail to equip, maintain and dynamise their national medical system. This “economic strategy” makes them responsible for the deaths of thousands of people.
Europe is not finally expected to stay divided, but the virus has created collateral damage. A good lesson was learned by member countries of the EU like Italy, who can no longer see China and Russia as enemies. In moments of need, these countries, including Cuba, rushed to help Rome even though the Italian government had imposed sanctions on Moscow. The “most powerful nation,” the US, failed to fulfil its role and did not respond to the needs of its supposed allies on the European continents until very late. France and Germany waited for many weeks before supporting Italy, the country that was most hit after China and was left alone in the eye of the storm when most in need. The Italian President Sergio Mattarella asked the EU to correct its behaviour before irreparable damage occurred to the EU institution because Italy was left alone to face the explosion of the pandemic.
China and Russia are both coming out winners. A few Italians recorded themselves, raising the Chinese flag and lowering the European flag, but China is not offering itself as a substitute for US hegemony but as a strategic partner. Russia also, like China, aimed at the hearts of the population and apparently has no policy of dominance comparable to that of the US. The Kremlin offered its help (100 virologists and tons of medical supplies were offered to Italy) unconditionally, and Rome was not pressured to lift its sanctions.
In contrast, the US refused to help Europe in the first weeks of the Coronavirus outbreak, imposing new sanctions on Iran amid the pandemic, offering a reward of $15 million for Venezuelan President Maduro and threatening to wage war on Iraqi security forces Kataeb Hezbollah. There was no human compassion from the US towards its opponents, like Iran, harshly hit by a pandemic. The current US warmongering administration is unable to change or to express empathy towards other human beings. They cannot see, understand, or adapt to the fact that this enemy is global and is making no distinctions within humankind.
A COVID-19 antidote will not be available soon. But there is little doubt that governments will take a different approach to medical readiness in the future. It is equally sure that allies will be reshuffled and that world dominance will no longer be the same when governments regain control after the pandemic. The world before COVID-19 will not be the same as that after COVID-19. The virus will be living among us and within us, waiting in silence for months and years to come.
Proofread by: Maurice Brasher andC.G.B
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الأول ولد في جبلة، والآخر في القرداحة. 23 كيلومتراً فقط تفصل بين الرجلين اللذين غيّرا وجه التاريخ في المنطقة.
فلسطين هي قدر الساحل السوري، فقد خرج من أرضه أهم رجلين رفعا راية فلسطين عالياً، وأشعلا نار المقاومة فيها.. عزالدين القسام وحافظ الأسد. الأول ولد في جبلة، والآخر في القرداحة. 23 كيلومتراً فقط تفصل بين الرجلين اللذين غيّرا وجه التاريخ في المنطقة.
في العام 1930، العام الذي بدأت فيه كتائب القسام أولى عمليات المقاومة الحقيقية والنوعية ضد العصابات الصهيونية في فلسطين، ولد الرئيس الراحل حافظ الأسد.
كان للرئيس الأسد رؤيته للقضية الفلسطينية، وهي أن المقاومة المسلّحة خير سبيل لتحرير الأرض… هذا أولاً. ثانياً، إن المقاومة الفلسطينية يجب ألا تكون جزءاً من الأزمات العربية، أي أنها شيء سامٍ بعيدٌ كل البعد من الأزمات العربية التي سيتم حلها في ما بعد، ولكن تدخّل الفلسطينيين بها سيعقد قضيتهم أكثر، ويحرف بوصلة المقاومة عن القضية السامية، وهي تحرير الأرض من الاحتلال الإسرائيلي.
منذ أن كان الرئيس الأسد وزيراً للدفاع، كان همه الأول دعم المقاومين الفلسطينيين. ولذلك، تم فتح الثكنات العسكرية السورية لهم، وتخرّجت منها قيادات مهمة في المقاومة، مثل أحمد جبريل، قائد الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين القيادة العامة.
وبعد أن وصل الرئيس حافظ الأسد إلى الحكم في العام 1971، بات دعم المقاومة الفلسطينية أكبر، وسلّمت القيادة السورية صلاح خلف، الذي يعرف باسم أبو إياد، معسكراً في منطقة الهامة في ريف دمشق، من أجل تدريب الفدائيين الفلسطينيين عند خروجهم من الأردن بعد أزمة أيلول الأسود.
رؤية الرئيس الأسد للمقاومة الفلسطينية، وهي تحرير الأراضي المحتلة من دون أن تتدخل المقاومة في الأزمات العربية أو تخلق أزمات فيها، اصطدمت بمحاولات بعض القيادات الفلسطينية التي كانت تسعى إلى الهيمنة على الدول العربية الصغيرة أو الضعيفة نوعاً ما، لأن الرئيس الأسد كان يرى أن الصدام في لبنان بين الفلسطينيين واللبنانيين سيخلق أزمة عربية كبيرة قد يصعب حلها، وخصوصاً أن لبنان بلد متنوع الطوائف والأديان والأفكار القومية.
ولذلك، إن أي صدام فيه سيخلق حرباً أهلية، وهو ما حصل فعلاً نتيجة بعض السياسات المتهورة، سواء من جناح ياسر عرفات أو بعض الفصائل اللبنانية المتطرفة.
كان التدخل السوري في لبنان شرعياً بعد أن تمت دعوته من الرئاسات الثلاث في لبنان، وهدفه الأول الحفاظ على وحدة البلد ونسيجه الوطني. ثانياً، الحفاظ على المقاومة الفلسطينية الخالصة التي تهدف إلى مواجهة الاحتلال الإسرائيلي فقط.
وعلى الرغم من قيام بعض الأجنحة الفلسطينية بارتكاب مجازر بحق الجيش السوري في لبنان، سواء في تل الزعتر أو بيروت، فإن الجيش السوري واصل دعم المقاومة، وفتح لها المعسكرات ومراكز التدريب ومستودعات الأسلحة في البقاع والجنوب اللبناني، وحافظ على هيكلة الجناح العسكري لحركة فتح من الانهيار، وهو ما أدى في ما بعد إلى تشكيل فتح الانتفاضة التي رفضت سياسات عرفات ضد دمشق والجيش السوري أو سياساته في خلق الأزمات في لبنان.
في أوائل الثمانينيات، خرجت حركات مقاومة فلسطينية بعيدة عن فتح، وكانت دمشق حاضنتها الأولى، مثل حركة الجهاد الإسلامي، فمنذ اللحظة الأولى لولادة هذه الحركة، فتحت سوريا حافظ الأسد ذراعيها ومعسكراتها لها، وهو ما شكل نقلة نوعية في أسلوب الكفاح المسلّح الفلسطيني وفكره، فمن يتّهم سوريا حافظ الأسد بأنها ضد الحركات الدينية، يتم لجمه، إذ إن حركة الجهاد هي أول حركة دينية فلسطينية رفعت راية الجهاد في وجه الاحتلال الإسرائيلي، والرئيس حافظ الأسد يرى أن المقاومة، سواء كانت إسلامية أو ماركسية أو قومية، لا فرق بينها إن كان هدفها الأول هو تحرير الأراضي الفلسطينية من الاحتلال الإسرائيلي.
على سبيل المثال، إن الجبهة الشعبية القيادة العامة وفتح الانتفاضة هما حركتان علمانيتان ودمشق تدعمهما، والجهاد هي حركة دينية مقاومة ودمشق تدعمها، فلا فرق بينهم إن كان هدفهم تحرير الأرض والابتعاد عن المشاريع الأخرى التي تحرف بوصلة المقاومة.
وفي العام 1987، ولدت حركة حماس التي حملت في بداية الأمر راية المقاومة فقط، واتخذت نهج حركة الجهاد نفسه، وطلبت من دمشق الدعم. وكعادتها، فتحت سوريا حافظ الأسد ذراعيها للحركة الجديدة أيضاً، وقدمت لها ما قدمته لشقيقتها الجهاد، إضافةً إلى المساكن الآمنة لقيادات الحركات الفلسطينية وعوائلهم، والأموال اللازمة من أجل المقاومين في الحركات.
وبحسب ما قاله لي قيادي كبير في حركة الجهاد، فلولا سوريا لما استطاعت المقاومة في قطاع غزة الانتصار في أي مواجهة مع الاحتلال الإسرائيلي، ولولا سوريا لما انطلقت رصاصة فلسطينية واحدة على “إسرائيل” بعد حرب لبنان، ولولا سوريا لما انسحبت “إسرائيل” من قطاع غزة، ولولا سوريا لما كان هناك غزة أصلاً. إن سوريا حافظ الأسد لا فرق لديها بين مقاومة فلسطينية أو عربية ضد الاحتلال.
وفي العام 1985، ولد حزب الله في لبنان؛ الحزب الذي أصبح في ما بعد الخطر الأول على أمن كيان الاحتلال، فكانت سوريا حافظ الأسد الحضن الحامي لهذا الحزب الذي أذاق الاحتلال الإسرائيلي المرّ منذ ولادته وحتى الآن.
لقد كانت معامل الدفاع السورية مفتوحة أمام المقاومة اللبنانية للحصول على الأسلحة لمواجهة الاحتلال، إضافة إلى التدريب في ثكنات الجيش السوري.
انتصر الرئيس حافظ الأسد على الاحتلال الإسرائيلي، سواء في الحرب المباشرة أو في دعم المقاومة أكثر من مرة، ولم يسلم روحه إلى بارئها حتى رأى انتصار المقاومة اللبنانية في جنوب لبنان، وانسحاب الاحتلال الإسرائيلي مكسوراً مهزوماً.
وبعد هذا الانتصار بستة عشر يوماً فقط، وفي العاشر من حزيران/يونيو 2000، انتقل الرئيس حافظ الأسد إلى الرفيق الأعلى، بعد أن أوجد مقاومة فلسطينية وأخرى لبنانية، هي إلى الآن خنجر في قلب الاحتلال، وتواصل الانتصار عليه وتكسره عند كل مواجهة.
راية المقاومة حملها الرئيس بشار الأسد الذي رفض المساومة عليها، رغم غدر البعض به، إلا أنه مصر على دعم المقاومة، لأنه على يقين بأن الشعب الفلسطيني تمثله البندقية التي دعمها حافظ الأسد، ويحميها الآن بشار الأسد.
TEHRAN– The spread of the coronavirus and its devastating impact on the US economy and US efforts to reduce Iran’s regional influence are possible motives behind US potential military action in Iraq.
While the world is fighting against the COVID-19 outbreak, regional countries including Iraq have been witnessing widespread US military moves in recent days.
Most News outlets and political analysts have anticipated an imminent massive military action in Iraq due to the extent of US military moves.
Any possible military aggression carried out by Trump’s administration comes as the US and the world are struggling to contain coronavirus and the US economy, and consequently, the global economy has fallen into a major recession.
Trump is pursuing a number of goals by launching military aggression against Iraq and creating new military conflicts in the Middle East:
*In line with its maximum pressure policy, the US occupiers seek to target Iraqi groups close to the Islamic Republic such as Badr Organization led by Hadi Al-Amiri, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq led by Qais al-Khazali, al-Nujaba Movement led by Akram al-Kaabi, and also Kata’ib Hezbollah. Washington assumes that adopting such an approach can reduce Iran’s influence in Iraq and undermine the economic, political and cultural cooperation between the two countries which play a significant role in reducing the impact of US sanctions on Tehran.
*After COVID-19 outbreak which triggered a global economic recession, Crude oil price dropped below $ 30 a barrel, causing serious damage to US companies producing Shale oil and severely jeopardized their future production. Therefore, a military conflict in the Middle East can raise the global price of oil and prevent the bankruptcy of oil companies.
*Moreover, regional military conflicts and consequently a rise in the oil price can be a threat to the Chinese energy security, whose economy is heavily dependent on the Middle East oil. This can be used as a tool for the US to contain China and additionally obtain more business privileges from this country and other major economies, such as Europe whose economy is also dependent on the Middle East oil.
*Regional clashes can also possibly affect Saudi oil facilities and reduce their oil production which makes them lose some part of their share from the global energy market which will be ultimately replaced by US oil.
*The US unemployment rate went up after many Americans lost their jobs due to the spread of coronavirus in the country and the world. Any US military adventure in the region can boost its military industry and consequently, to some extent, control the US unemployment rate.
*Ultimately, all of these goals can possibly save Donald Trump in the upcoming US election. Many polls suggest that Trump’s lying about the spread of coronavirus and his belated measures to contain the virus and also the subsequent economic pressure on the US citizens have cast doubt on his victory in the upcoming US election and helped his democratic rival have the upper hand.
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