Uprooted Palestinian: SALAM ALQUDS ALAYKUM – سلام القدس عليكم

Tuesday, 7 January 2020

FRAGMENTATION IN THE AXIS OF RESISTANCE LED TO SOLEIMANI’S DEATH

Posted on 05/01/2020 by Elijah J Magnier

By Elijah J. Magnier: @ejmalrai

It was not the US decision to fire missiles against the IRGC commander Brigadier General Qassem Soleimani that killed the Iranian officer and his companions in Baghdad. Yes, of course, the order that was given to launch missiles from the two drones (which destroyed the two cars carrying Sardar Soleimani and his companion the Iraqi commander in al-Hashd al-Shaabi Jamal Jaafar Al-Tamimi aka Abu Mahdi al-Muhandes and burned their bodies in the vehicle) came from US command and control. However, the reason President Donald Trump made this decision derives from the weakness of the “axis of resistance”, which has completely retreated from the level of performance that Iran believed it was capable of after decades of work to strengthen this “axis”.

A close companion of Major General Qassim Soleimani, to whom he spoke hours before boarding the plane that took him from Damascus to Baghdad, told me: “The nobleman died. Palestine above all has lost Hajj Qassem (Soleimani). He was the “King” of the Axis of the Resistance and its leader. He was assassinated and this is exactly what he was hoping to reach in this life (Martyrdom). However, this axis will live and will not die. No doubt, the Axis of the Resistance needs to review its policy and regenerate itself to correct its path. This was what Hajj Qassim was complaining about and planning to work on and strategizing about in his last hours. ”

The US struck Iran at the heart of its pride by killing Major General Soleimani. But the “axis of the Resistance” killed him before that. This is how:

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assassinated the deputy head of the Military Council (the highest authority in the Lebanese Hezbollah, which is headed by its Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah), Hajj Imad Mughniyah in Damascus, Syria, Hezbollah could not avenge him until today.

When Trump gave Netanyahu Jerusalem as the “capital of Israel”, the “Axis of the Resistance” did not move except by holding television symposia and conferences verbally rejecting the decision.

When President Trump offered the occupied Syrian Golan Heights to Israel and the “Axis of Resistance” did not react, the US President Donald Trump and his team understood that they were opposed by no effective deterrent. The inaction of the Resistance axis emboldened Trump to do what he wants.

And when Israel bombed hundreds of Syrian and Iranian targets in Syria, the “Axis of the Resistance” justified its lack of retaliation by the typical sentence: “We do not want to be dragged along by the timing of the engagement imposed by the enemy,” as a senior official in this axis told me.

In Iraq shortly before his death, Major General Soleimani was complaining about the weakening of the Iraqi ranks within this “Axis of the Resistance”, represented by the Al-Bina’ (Construction) Alliance and other groups close to this alliance like Al-Hikma of Ammar al-Hakim and Haidar al-Abadi, formerly close to Iran, that have gone over to the US side.

In Iraq, Major General Soleimani was very patient and never lost his temper. He was trying to reconcile the Iraqis, both his allies and those who had chosen the US camp and disagreed with him. He used to hug those who shouted at him to lower tensions and continue dialogue to avoid spoiling the meeting. Anyone who raised his voice during discussions soon found that it was Soleimani who calmed everyone down.

Hajj Qassem Soleimani was unable to reach a consensus on the new Prime Minister’s name among those he deemed to be allies in the same coalition. He asked Iraqi leaders to select the names and went through all of these asking questions about the acceptability of these names to the political groups, to the Marjaiya, to protestors in the street and whether the suggested names were not provocative or challenging to the US. Notwithstanding the animosity between Iran and the US, Soleimani encouraged the selection of a personality that would not be boycotted by the US. Soleimani believed the US capable of damaging Iraq and understood the importance of maintaining a good relationship with the US for the stability of the country.

Soleimani was shocked by the dissension among Iraqi Shia and believed that the “axis of resistance” needed a new vision as it was faltering. In the final hours before his death, Major General Soleimani was ruminating on the profound antagonisms between Iraqis of the same camp.

When the Iraqi street began to move against the government, the line rejecting American hegemony was fragmented because it was part of the authority that ruled and governed Iraq. To make matters worse, Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr directed his arrows against his partners in government, as though the street demonstrations did not target him, the politician controlling the largest number of Iraqi deputies, ministers and state officials, who had participated in the government for more than ten years.

Major General Soleimani admonished Moqtada Al-Sadr for his stances, which contributed to undermining the Iraqi ranks because the Sadrist leader did not offer an alternative solution or practical project other than the chaos. Moqtada has his own men, the feared Saraya al-Salam, present in the street.

When US Defense Secretary Mark Esper called Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi on December 28 and informed him of America’s intentions of hitting Iraqi security targets inside Iraq, including the PMU, Soleimani was very disappointed by Abdul-Mahdi’s failure to effectively oppose Esper. Abdul-Mahdi merely told Esper that the proposed US action was dangerous. Soleimani knew that the US would not have hit Iraqi targets had Abdul-Mahdi dared to oppose the US decision. The targeted areas were a common Iranian-Iraqi operational stage to monitor and control ISIS movements on the borders with Syria and Iraq. The US would have reversed its decision had the Iraqi Prime Minister threatened the US with retaliation in the event that Iraqi forces were bombed and killed. After all, the US had no legal right to attack any objective in Iraq without the agreement of the Iraqi government. This decision was the moment when Iraq has lost its sovereignty and the US took control of the country.

This effective US control is another reason why President Trump gave the green light to kill Major General Soleimani. The Iraqi front had demonstrated its weakness and also, it was necessary to select a strong Iraqi leader with the guts to stand to the US arrogance and unlawful actions.

Iran has never controlled Iraq, as most analysts mistakenly believe and speculate. For years, the US has worked hard in the corridors of the Iraqi political leadership lobby for its own interests. The most energetic of its agents was US Presidential envoy Brett McGurk, who clearly realised the difficulties of navigating inside Iraqi leaders’ corridors during the search for a prime minister of Iraq before the appointment of Adel Abdel Mahdi, the selection of President Barham Saleh and other governments in the past. Major General Soleimani and McGurk shared an understanding of these difficulties. Both understood the nature of the Iraqi political quagmire.

Soleimani did not give orders to fire missiles at US bases or attack the US Embassy. If it was in his hands to destroy them with accurate missiles and to remove the entire embassy from its place without repercussions, he would not have hesitated. But the Iraqis have their own opinions, methods, modus operandi and selection of targets and missile calibres; they never relied on Soleimani for such decisions.

Iranian involvement in Iraqi affairs was never welcomed by the Marjaiya in Najaf, even if it agreed to receive Soleimani on a few occasions. They clashed over the reelection of Nuri al-Maliki, Soleimani’s preferred candidate, to the point that the Marjaiya wrote a letter making its refusal of al-Maliki explicit. This led to the selection of Abadi as prime minister.

Soleimani’s views contradicted the perception of the Marjaiya, that had to write a clear message, firstly, to reject the re-election of Nori al-Maliki to a third session, despite Soleimani’s insistence.

All of the above is related to the stage that followed the 2011 departure of US forces from Iraq under President Obama. Prior to that, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis was the link between the Iraqis and Iran: he had the decision-making power, the vision, the support of various groups, and effectively served as the representative of Soleimani, who did not interfere in the details. These Iraqi groups met with Soleimani often in Iran; Soleimani rarely travelled to Iraq during the period of heavy US military presence.

Soleimani, although he was the leader of the “Axis of the Resistance”, was sometimes called “the king” in some circles because his name evokes Solomon. According to sources within the “Axis of the Resistance”, he “never dictated his own policy but left a margin of movement and decision to all leaders of the axis without exception. Therefore, he was considered the link between this axis and the supreme leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei. Soleimani was able to contact Sayyed Khamenei at any time and directly without mediation. The Leader of the revolution considered Soleimani as his son.

According to sources, in Syria, Soleimani “never hesitated to jump inside a truck, ride an ordinary car, take the first helicopter, or travel on a transport or cargo plane as needed. He did not take any security precautions but used his phone (which he called a companion spy) freely because he believed that when the decision came to assassinate him, he would follow his destiny. He looked forward to becoming a martyr because he had already lived long.”

Was the leader of the “resistance axis” managing and running it?

Sayyed Ali Khamenei told Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah: “You are an Arab and the Arabs accept you more than they accept Iran”. Sayyed Nasrallah directed and managed the axis of Lebanon, Syria and Yemen and had an important role in Iraq. Hajj Soleimani was the liaison between the axis of the resistance and Iran and he was the financial and logistical officer. According to my source, “He was a friend of all leaders and officials of all ranks. He was humble and looked after everyone he had to deal with”.

The “Axis of Resistance” indirectly allowed the killing of Qassem Soleimani. If Israel and the US could know Sayyed Nasrallah’s whereabouts, they would not hesitate a moment to assassinate him. They may be aware: the reaction may be limited to burning flags and holding conferences and manifesting in front of an embassy. Of course, this kind of reaction does not deter President Trump who wants to be re-elected with the support of Israel and US public opinion. He wants to present himself as a warrior and determined leader who loves battle and killing.

Iran invested 40 years building the “Axis of the Resistance”. It cannot remain idle, faced with the assassination of the Leader of this axis. Would a suitable price be the US exit from Iraq and condemnation in the Security Council? Would that, together with withdrawal from the nuclear deal, be enough for Iran to avenge its General? Will the ensuing battle be confined to the Iraqi stage? Will it be used for the victory of certain Iraqi political players?

The assassination of its leader represents the supreme test for the Axis of Resistance. All sides, friend and foe, are awaiting its response.

Proofread by: C.G.B. and Maurice Brasher

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River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

بين إيران والقنبلة النووية مسافة تصغر

الحلقة 01 # من برنامج ستون دقيقة مع ناصر قنديل 05 01 2020

يناير 6, 2020

ناصر قنديل

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لم يعرف العالم دولة مثل إيران تحرص على بقائها ضمن حدود الأهداف والضوابط السلمية لملفها النووي، وتملك كامل المقدرات لنقله إلى المستوى العسكري وحمايتها، وتلقى بالمقابل هذا المستوى من الصدّ والتيئيس لفرصها بشرعنة هذا الحق المكفول نظرياً وفقاً للقانون الدولي والمواثيق التي ترعاها الوكالة الدولية للطاقة الذرية. فقد واجهت إيران عقوبات أممية قاسية تحت عنوان الشك في وجود نيات لأبعاد عسكرية لملفها النووي، وبقيت تعاني سنوات من هذه العقوبات، وتدفع من نموها الاقتصادي ورفاه شعبها ثمن صمودها، حتى توصلت عن طريق التفاوض إلى التفاهم الذي وقعته وصادقت عليه الأمم المتحدة، والدول الدائمة العضوية في مجلس الأمن وألمانيا والاتحاد الأوروبي، وقبلت إيران في التفاهم شروطاً تقييدية لقدراتها النووية السلمية تعادل أضعاف القيود القانونية للوكالة الدولية إثباتاً لحسن النيات، وأملاً بالوقوف تحت مظلة دولية دبلوماسية قانونية.

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خلال سنتين من تطبيق التفاهم أكدت الوكالة الدولية للطاقة الذرية، ومثلها عواصم الدول المعنية بما فيها واشنطن التزام إيران بتطبيق صارم لموجباتها في التفاهم، كما أكدت عدم وجود أي مخاوف من شقّ عسكري للملف النووي الإيراني، ومنذ سنتين وعلى مراحل تصعيديّة خرجت واشنطن من التفاهم دون أي عذر يتّصل بإخلال إيران بموجباتها، بل بترجمة مباشرة للخلاف السياسي مع إيران حول أوضاع المنطقة وخصوصاً الموقف من “إسرائيل”، وواصلت إيران التزاماتها رغم العقوبات المشدّدة التي لحقت باقتصادها، لكن المؤسسات الدولية والدول الكبرى التي تشكل العمود الفقري في هذه المؤسسات والموقعة جميعها على التفاهم النووي مع إيران، بقيت وهي تؤكد لا قانونية الإجراءات الأميركية العدائية على إيران، تقول إنها عاجزة عن السير بموجباتها تجاه إيران وفقاً لنصوص التفاهم، والسبب الخوف من العقوبات الأميركية.

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يأتي اغتيال القائد في القوات المسلحة الإيرانية الجنرال قاسم سليماني بإعلان رسمي من الرئيس الأميركي، ويؤكد أيضاً ان العالم الذي يرى الخطوة الأميركية عملاً غير قانوني، واعتداء سافراً على إيران، لا يجرؤ على فعل شيء، بل يجامل واشنطن ويتفادى إزعاجها وتنصبّ الدعوات نحو طهران للمطالبة بضبط النفس، ووصولاً لمطالبتها بالامتناع عن الرد على الاغتيال، والخلاصة واضحة أن العالم يخشى القوي ويخضع لقوانينه، وأن الملتزم بالقانون لا مكان له في الحسابات الواقعية، وسيبقى جانبه مهيضاً، وينظر إليه كجهة مطالبة أحادياً بالتنازلات كلما حضرت معادلة اسمها “الحرص على الاستقرار”، وإيران تستنتج مرة بعد مرة أن قرارها الصادق والمؤسس على عقيدة دينية، بعدم امتلاك قنبلة نووية، تملك القدرة على إنتاجها، يتحول إلى عبء على حق شعبها بالعيش، وعلى أمنها المعرّض للانتهاك، وعلى كرامتها الوطنية المعرضة للطعن، والأهم أن في إيران من بات يتساءل: هل بات طريق حفظ الاستقرار والسيادة والكرامة معاً هو امتلاك القنبلة بدلاً من الامتناع عن امتلاكها؟ – السؤال الذي تتداوله اوساط مهمة في النخبة الإيرانية اليوم، هو ماذا لو كان لدى إيران قنبلة نووية، هل كان ليتجرأ ترامب على التمادي، وهل كان الاستقرارالذي سيهتزاليوم في المنطقة حكماً معرضاً للاهتزاز، والجواب الذي لم يتوضح بعد كان قد لمح إليه الرئيس الأميركي السابق باراك أوباما، ن إيران والقنبلة أقصر بكثير من المسافة العقائدية، ومتى سقطت العقدة العقائدية وصارت فتوى الإمام الخامنئي أن امتلاك القنبلة شيء واستخدامها شيء آخر وأن التقييد الشرعي يطال الاستخدام وليس الإنتاج، لا بل إن إنتاج القنبلة ضامن للسلم ورادع للعدوان، سيتغير الكثير وبسرعة، وسيكتشف الذي تهاونوا مع العبث الأميركي بأمن المنطقة وتوازناتها واقتصادها، أنهم دفعوا إيران نحو الطريق الذي كانوا يظنون أنهم يبعدونها عنه

Soleimani: The ‘Muslim Che Guevara’ dies, but revolutionary culture continues

The Saker

The blowback has begun

First, let’s begin by a quick summary of what has taken place (note: this info is still coming in, so there might be corrections once the official sources make their official statements).

Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdl Mahdi has now officially revealed that the US had asked him to mediate between the US and Iran and that General Qassem Soleimani to come and talk to him and give him the answer to his mediation efforts. Thus, Soleimani was on an OFFICIAL DIPLOMATIC MISSION as part of a diplomatic initiative INITIATED BY THE USA.
The Iraqi Parliament has now voted on a resolution requiring the government to press Washington and its allies to withdraw their troops from Iraq.
Iraq’s caretaker PM Adil Abdul Mahdi said the American side notified the Iraqi military about the planned airstrike minutes before it was carried out. He stressed that his government denied Washington permission to continue with the operation.
The Iraqi Parliament has also demanded that the Iraqi government must “work to end the presence of any foreign troops on Iraqi soil and prohibit them from using its land, airspace or water for any reason“
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said that Baghdad had turned to the UN Security Council with complaints about US violations of its sovereignty.
Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said the parliamentary resolution to end foreign troop presence in the country did not go far enough, calling on local and foreign militia groups to unite. I also have confirmation that the Mehdi Army is being re-mobilized.
The Pentagon brass is now laying the responsibility for this monumental disaster on Trump (see here). The are now slowly waking up to this immense clusterbleep and don’t want to be held responsible for what is coming next.
For the first time in the history of Iran, a Red Flag was hoisted over the Holy Dome Of Jamkaran Mosque, Iran. This indicates that the blood of martyrs has been spilled and that a major battle will now happen. The text in the flag says “Oh Hussein we ask for your help” (unofficial translation 1) or “Rise up and avenge al-Husayn” (unofficial translation 2)
The US has announced the deployment of 3’000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne to Kuwait.
Finally, the Idiot-in-Chief tweeted the following message, probably to try to reassure his freaked out supporters: “The United States just spent Two Trillion Dollars on Military Equipment. We are the biggest and by far the BEST in the World! If Iran attacks an American Base, or any American, we will be sending some of that brand new beautiful equipment their way…and without hesitation!“. Apparently, he still thinks that criminally overspending for 2nd rate military hardware is going to yield victory…

Analysis

Well, my first though when reading these bullet points is that General Qasem Soleimani has already struck out at Uncle Shmuel from beyond his grave. What we see here is an immense political disaster unfolding like a slow motion train wreck. Make no mistake, this is not just a tactical “oopsie”, but a major STRATEGIC disaster. Why?

For one thing, the US will now become an official and totally illegal military presence in Iraq. This means that whatever SOFA (Status Of Forces Agreement) the US and Iraq had until now is void.

Second, the US now has two options:

Fight and sink deep into a catastrophic quagmire or
Withdraw from Iraq and lose any possibility to keep forces in Syria

Both of these are very bad because whatever option Uncle Shmuel chooses, he will lost whatever tiny level of credibility he has left, even amongst his putative “allies” (like the KSA which will now be left nose to nose with a much more powerful Iran than ever before).

The main problem with the current (and very provisional) outcome is that both the Israel Lobby and the Oil Lobby will now be absolutely outraged and will demand that the US try to use military power to regime change both Iraq and Iran.

Needless to say, that ain’t happening (only ignorant and incurable flag-wavers believe the silly claptrap about the US armed forces being “THE BEST”).

Furthermore, it is clear that by it’s latest terrorist action the USA has now declared war on BOTH Iraq and Iran.

This is so important that I need to repeat it again:

The USA is now at war, de-facto and de-jure, with BOTH Iraq and Iran.

I hasten to add that the US is also at war with most of the Muslim world (and most definitely all Shias, including Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthis).

Next, I want to mention the increase in US troop numbers in the Middle-East. An additional 3’000 soldiers from the 82nd AB is what would be needed to support evacuations and to provide a reserve force for the Marines already sent in. This is NOWHERE NEAR the kind of troop numbers the US would need to fight a war with either Iraq or Iran.

Finally, there are some who think that the US will try to invade Iran. Well, with a commander in chief as narcissistically delusional as Trump, I would never say “never” but, frankly, I don’t think that anybody at the Pentagon would be willing to obey such an order. So no, a ground invasion is not in the cards and, if it ever becomes an realistic option we would first see a massive increase in the US troop levels, we are talking several tens of thousands, if not more (depending on the actual plan).

No, what the US will do if/when they attack Iran is what Israel did to Lebanon in 2006, but at a much larger scale. They will begin by a huge number of airstrikes (missiles and aircraft) to hit:

Iranian air defenses
Iranian command posts and Iranian civilian and military leaders
Symbolic targets (like nuclear installations and high visibility units like the IRGC)
Iranian navy and coastal defenses
Crucial civilian infrastructure (power plants, bridges, hospitals, radio/TV stations, food storage, pharmaceutical installations, schools, historical monuments and, let’s not forget that one, foreign embassies of countries who support Iran). The way this will be justified will be the same as what was done to Serbia: a “destruction of critical regime infrastructure” (what else is new?!)

Then, within about 24-48 hours the US President will go on air an announce to the world that it is “mission accomplished” and that “THE BEST” military forces in the galaxy have taught a lesson to the “Mollahs”. There will be dances in the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem (right until the moment the Iranian missiles will start dropping from the sky. At which point the dances will be replaced by screams about a “2nd Hitler” and the “Holocaust”).

Then all hell will break loose (I have discussed that so often in the past that I won’t go into details here).

In conclusion, I want to mention something more personal about the people of the US.

Roughly speaking, there are two main groups which I observed during my many years of life in the USA.

Group one: is the TV-watching imbeciles who think that the talking heads on the idiot box actually share real knowledge and expertise. As a result, their thinking goes along the following lines: “yeah, yeah, say what you want, but if the mollahs make a wrong move, we will simply nuke them; a few neutron bombs will take care of these sand niggers“. And if asked about the ethics of this stance, the usual answer is a “f**k them! they messed with the wrong guys, now they will get their asses kicked“.

Group two: is a much quieter group. It includes both people who see themselves as liberals and conservatives. They are totally horrified and they feel a silent rage against the US political elites. Friends, there are A LOT of US Americans out there who are truly horrified by what is done in their name and who feel absolutely powerless to do anything about it. I don’t know about the young soldiers who are now being sent to the Middle-East, but I know a lot of former servicemen who know the truth about war and about THE BEST military in the history of the galaxy and they are also absolutely horrified.

I can’t say which group is bigger, but my gut feeling is that Group Two is much bigger than Group One. I might be wrong.

I am now signing off but I will try to update you here as soon as any important info comes in.

The Saker

UPDATE1: according to the Russian website Colonel Cassad, Moqtada al-Sadr has officially made the following demands to the Iraqi government:

Immediately break the cooperation agreement with the United States.
Close the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
Close all U.S. military bases in Iraq.
Criminalize any cooperation with the United States.
To ensure the protection of Iraqi embassies.
Officially boycott American products.

Cassad (aka Boris Rozhin) also posted this excellent caricature:

UPDATE2: RT is reporting that “One US service member, two contractors killed in Al-Shabaab attack in Kenya, two DoD personnel injured“. Which just goes to prove my point that spontaneous attacks are what we will be seeing first and that the retaliation promised by Iran will only come later.

UPDATE3: al-Manar reports that two rockets have landed near the US embassy in Baghdad.

UPDATE4: Zerohedge is reporting that Iranian state TV broadcasted an appeal made during the funeral procession in which a speaker said that each Iranian ought to send one dollar per person (total 80’000’000 dollars) as a bounty for the killing of Donald Trump. I am trying to get a confirmation from Iran about this.

UPDATE5: Russian sources claim that all Iranian rocket forces have been put on combat alert.

UPDATE6: the Russian heavy rocket cruiser “Marshal Ustinov” has cross the Bosphorus and has entered the

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

Monday, 6 January 2020

جهود رسمية لإعلان الحكومة خلال أيام تحسّباً لارتدادات التصعيد في المنطقة جبهة الجنوب ستبقى هادئة حالياً وحزب الله قد يردّ من سورية

يناير 6, 2020

محمد حمية

على رغم ترجيح أكثر من مصدر سياسي ولادة الحكومة الأسبوع الحالي، إلا أن المستجدات الإقليمية ومواقف الامين العام لحزب السيد حسن نصرالله طغت على مجمل المشهد الداخلي، وسط ترقب لانعكاسات خطاب السيد نصرالله على الواقع السياسي في لبنان والملف الحكومي والوضع على جبهة الجنوب مع فلسطين المحتلة.

وأشارت مصادر مطلعة لـ”البناء” الى أن لا تأثير للتصعيد الأميركي الإيراني ومواقف السيد نصرالله على ملف تأليف الحكومة، بل على العكس تماماً، إذ أن تصاعد التوتر في المنطقة يفرض الإسراع في تأليف حكومة، وعلمت “البناء” في هذا السياق أن الجهود الرسمية تنصب على مسارين: الأول الإسراع بتأليف الحكومة لتحصين الجبهة الداخلية والوضعين السياسي والاقتصادي تحسباً لأي ارتدادات للتصعيد العسكري في المنطقة على الداخل اللبناني، والثاني تجنيب لبنان هذه التداعيات لا سيما على الحدود مع فلسطين المحتلة. وهذا ما أشار اليه وزير الخارجية في حكومة تصريف الأعمال جبران باسيل بضرورة “إبعاد لبنان عن التداعيات السلبية لهذا التصعيد، والحاجة الى التفاوض بدلاً من العنف، لأن الحوار يؤمن الحلول ويحفظ الأمن والاستقرار، وهما حاجة حيوية للبنان لخروجه من ضائقته المالية الصعبة”. ولمس باسيل خلال مروحة اتصالات تلقاها وأجراها مع نظرائه في عدد من الدول «تفهماً كاملاً للوضع اللبناني والحاجة إلى تجنيبه أي أضرار إضافية».

وقد رجّحت أوساط مطلعة أن تعلن مراسيم تشكيل الحكومة الثلاثاء المقبل، مشيرة الى أنه لم يعد هناك أي مانع لإعلان ولادة الحكومة بعد تذليل آخر العقد المتمثلة بالحصة السنية والدرزية وبعض الأسماء التي ستتولى الحقائب السيادية كالداخلية والدفاع والخارجية. وتوقعت مصادر نيابية في التيار الوطني الحر أن تولد الحكومة هذا الأسبوع، مشيرة لـ»البناء» إلى أن لا مشكلة مع الرئيس المكلف حسان دياب في حصة التيار الوطني الحر. فيما تحدث وزير المال علي حسن خليل عن «تقدم كبير» كاشفاً أننا «قاب قوسين او أدنى من إعلان الحكومة«، لافتاً الى أنه «لا يعنينا اسم وشكل الحكومة إنما يعنينا مشروعها القادر على بناء الثقة مع الناس، نريد حكومة تترجم الإصلاح إصلاحاً حقيقياً ولا تعتمد على الشعارات انما على الأفعال».

إلا أن التساؤلات كثرت حول تداعيات التصعيد الاقليمي على لبنان والمواجهة بين حزب الله و»إسرائيل»، وفي السياق، يؤكد الخبير العسكري والاستراتيجي الدكتور هشام جابر في حديث لـ»البناء» بأن «جبهة جنوب لبنان لن تتحرّك في الوقت الراهن لأنها الجبهة الأخطر والاكثر حساسية وهي عقدة محور المقاومة لقربها الجغرافي من فلسطين المحتلة ولأنها تشكل خطراً كبيراً استراتيجياً على أمن ووجود الكيان الصهيوني»، لكنه أكد بأن «حزب الله سيرد على أي عدوان إسرائيلي على لبنان ولن يسمح بأن تستغل إسرائيل الضربة الأميركية لتغيير قواعد الاشتباك وفرض معادلات جديدة مع لبنان»، ويرجح جابر أن يقوم الحزب بضربة للمصالح الأميركية من الارض السورية، أما سورية فلن تردّ كدولة لكن في حال توسّعت رقعة الحرب ستدخلها دمشق حتماً. ويضيف جابر بأن «لا وجود عسكري أميركي في لبنان ليقوم حزب الله باستهدافه»، مشيراً الى أن «الحزب يمتلك منظومة صواريخ متطورة ودقيقة تنتشر من البقاع والحدود السورية في القصير والقلمون امتداداً الى الجنوب اللبناني ما يمنع إسرائيل من شن حرب على لبنان».أما العميد وليد سكرية فيرى أن لبنان لن يدخل في الحرب في الوقت الحالي، لكن إذا ما توسّعت رقعة الحرب في المنطقة وبدأت عملية الردّ والردّ على الردّ سيكون جزءاً من هذه الحرب، مشيراً الى أن «فتح المعركة في العراق ستؤجّل المعركة في لبنان»، موضحاً لـ»البناء» أن العراق حسم قراره بالوقوف مع إيران بوجه العدوان الأميركي، ولهذا السبب سيركز الأميركيون على العراق واستخدام كافة أدواتهم للبقاء العسكري فيه، لكن إذا ما فشل الأميركيون في الحفاظ على مكتسباتهم في العراق فسيعودون الى الساحة اللبنانية للعبث فيها وإثارة الفوضى لحصار حزب الله».

هل ستشهد الساعات المقبلة ولادَة الحكومة

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River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

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Sayyed Nasrallah: Fair Punishment for Assassinating Soleimani, Al-Muhandis is Ending the US Presence in our Region

Zeinab Essa

Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered on Sunday a speech in which he shed light on the biggest crime of assassinating the Leaders General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis.

Addressing thousands of mourners in Dahyia [Southern Suburbs of Beirut] at the memorial of both leaders, Sayyed Nasrallah said that Hezbollah is commeorating the martyrdom of “the great and global leader Hajj Qassem Solimani and our beloved brother Abu Mahdi Al-Muhadis.”

Confirming that “2/2/2020 is a decisive point that announces the beginning of a new stage,” he underscored that “The two martyrs, Hajj Qassem and Abu Mahdi were passionate for martyrdom especially in the recent years.”

“Hajj Qassem Soleimani achieved his goal on Thursday evening, which is martyrdom,” His Eminence added,underscoring that the personal goal for the two leaders was “martyrdom”.

As the Resistance leader condoled the families of both martyr leaders, Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that “The crulest thing our enemy posses is to kill us and our ultimate goal is martyrdom. This equation of faith turns death into victory.”

“We are not defeated.Even when we are martyred we triumph,” he elaborated.

On the incident, Sayyed Nasrallah unveiled that “Hajj Qassem Soleimani and his companions publicly traveled from Damascus to Baghdad airport. After moving in their cars for a certain distance, a brutal strike hit our dear bothers sacttering and burning their bodies. Not only did Hajj Qassem achieve martyrdom but his head and hands were cut off like Imam Hussein and Abbas and his body was torn apart.”

According to His Eminence, “We’re in front of an very clear crime based on Trump’s order to his army.”

Recalling that “several attempts to assassinate Hajj Qassem were foiled in the past,” he explained that “he decision for this public assassination came after the successive failures to assassinate Soleimani secretly.”

“Since the beginning of his term, [US President Donald] Trump has set a goal of toppling the Islamic regime in Iran,” the Resistance Leader added, listing that “Trump has worked to withdraw from the nuclear agreement, to sanction and pressure Iran as well as to agitate strife in it.”

Moreover, His Eminence added that “Trump achieved nothing in the Iranian issue, as his sanctions and blockades did not work and he does not know what to say to the American people abouthis failure in this file.”

In addition, Sayyed Nasrallah underscored that “He [Donald Trump] scored another failure in Lebanon despite all the sanctions, incitement and funds that made him achieve nothing.”

On this level, His Eminence unveiled that “In his last trip, [US envy to the region] Satterfield threatened the Lebanese authorities that “Israel” would bomb Hezbollah installations if they didn’t remove it in 15 days. That never happened.”

“Another factor for Trump’s action is the failure in Yemen and Afghanistan despite negotiations with the Taliban,” he said, pointing out that “Trump is clear and transparent because he is arrogant as he weighs no value for countries, international institutions and communities.”
or the international community.”

Regarding the latest developments on the Iraqi environment, Sayyed Nasrallah clarified that “Trump sought to weaken Iraq and control it through Daesh, but he failed.”

“Trump considers that Iraq does not have a state and this is mentioned in his statements; he wants to deploy his forces in the country to control its oil fields and export them to the world.”

Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that “Daesh was defeated thanks to the Iraqi people’s steadfastness and the support of the religious authority and the sacred Popular Moblization Forces,and that’s why martyr Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis’ roles were important on this front.”

“The Iraqi government that resulted from elections headed by Adel Abdel Mahdi bothered the US government because it refused to sanction Iran or to be part of the deal of the century and it signed agreements with China.”

On another level, His Eminence warned that “The Americans, through their electronic armies and their malicious tools, seek to cause discord and strife between the Iraqi people and the Iranian people because they believed that Iran supported the Iraqi people.”

Sayyed Nasrallah went on to say that “The US has searched for something that can be achieved and that can break the axis of resistance, but at the same time doesn’t lead to war with Iran.”

“Wherever America and “Israel” went in the region, they found a man facing them everywhere in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, and in every axis of the resistance, they found Qassem Soleimani,” His Eminence declared.

Announcing that “The United States has started a new war of a new type in the region,” Sayyed Nasrallah revealed that “Hajj Qassem Soleimani visited me a week before his assassination i.e. on the 1st day of the new year.”

“”Israel” considers that the most dangerous man for its existence and entity is Qassem Soleimani. However, it did not dare to kill him so it resorted to America to accomplish the mission.”

His Eminence also said that he told Hajj Qassem on his visit that the American media is focusing on him because the US is planning his assassination.”

Meanwhile,he highlighted that “The enemies were hoping that with assassinating Hajj Qassem in Iraq and that the axis of the resistance would retract and that the coordination between the axis would be lost and that Iran would be afraid and so on.”

Regarding the response, he stated that “Through the assassination crime, Trump sought to intimidate and subjugate Iran but the response has started in Iran, with the statements of the Supreme Leader Imam Khamenei and the other Iranian officials.”

“Hajj Qassem and Abu Mahdi’s blood must lead to ousted the US army out of Iraq. Iraqi resistance will not let a single US soldier remain in Iraq,” Sayyed Nasrallah stressed, pointing out that “If the US had attacked Iran, it would not have required our involvement. But when they killed Qassem Soleimani, they attacked the resistance.Qassem Soleimani means all the axis of resistance and he’s not an Iranian issue.”

Reiterating that “The perpetrator of this crime is clear and should be punished,” Sayyed Nasrallah urged the Iraqis and particularly the “Iraqi parliament to approve a law calling for the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. And this is the minimun to be done.”

“The fair punishment is eliminating the US military presence from our region. There is no figure i.e. parallel to Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis. Qassem Soleimani’s shoes is equal to Trump’s head.”

On this level, Sayyed Nasrallah addressed the Resistance people by saying: “It is up to anyone from the axis of resistance to deliver a fair punishment after Soleimani’s assassination and Iran will not request anything from its allies and friends.”

To the US adiminstration, the Resistance Leader sent a sounding message: “The US army killed Qassem Soleimani and abu Mahdi and it will pay the price.The self-sacrifying martyrs who removed America from our neighborhood are more present than before to achieve this, and the Mujahideen are present to achieve this. The US military bases, soldiers, officers and warships are fair targets. Once the coffins of American soldiers and officers begin returning home, Trump will realize he has lost the region.”

However, he clarified that ” We do not at all mean the American people and citizens across our region.”

“If this type of assassination goes unpunished, the region will be violated by the Americans and the “Israelis”. When the Americans leave our region, the liberation of Al-Quds will be closer

Clearly, Sayyed Nasrallah said: “I say to Trump and those with him do you know what you did, which blood you shed and which sou you killed.This is a different matter and the fair punishment for Qassem Soleimani is a punishment for Imad Mughniyah, Sayyed Abbas, Sheikh Ragheb, Mustafa Badrddine, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis and all the martyrs.”

The Soleimani Assassination: The Long-Awaited Beginning of The End of America’s Imperial Ambitions

By Philip Giraldi

Source

The United States is now at war with Iran in a conflict that could easily have been avoided and it will not end well. There will be no declaration of war coming from either side, but the assassination of Iranian Quds Force Commander General Qassem Soleimani and the head of Kata’ib Hezbollah Abu Mehdi Muhandis by virtue of a Reaper drone strike in Baghdad will shift the long-simmering conflict between the two nations into high gear. Iran cannot let the killing of a senior military officer go unanswered even though it cannot directly confront the United States militarily. But there will be reprisals and Tehran’s suspected use of proxies to stage limited strikes will now be replaced by more damaging actions that can be directly attributed to the Iranian government. As Iran has significant resources locally, one can expect that the entire Persian Gulf region will be destabilized.

And there is also the terrorism card, which will come into play. Iran has an extensive diaspora throughout much of the Middle East and, as it has been threatened by Washington for many years, it has had a long time to prepare for a war to be fought largely in the shadows. No American diplomat, soldier or even tourists in the region should consider him or herself to be safe, quite the contrary. It will be an “open season” on Americans. The U.S. has already ordered a partial evacuation of the Baghdad Embassy and has advised all American citizens to leave the country immediately.

Donald Trump rode to victory in 2016 on a promise to end the useless wars in the Middle East, but he has now demonstrated very clearly that he is a liar. Instead of seeking detente, one of his first actions was to end the JCPOA nuclear agreement and re-introduce sanctions against Iran. In a sense, Iran has from the beginning been the exception to Trump’s no-new-war pledge, a position that might reasonably be directly attributed to his incestuous relationship with the American Jewish community and in particular derived from his pandering to the expressed needs of Israel’s belligerent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump bears full responsibility for what comes next. The neoconservatives and Israelis are predictably cheering the result, with Mark Dubowitz of the pro-Israel Foundation for Defense of Democracies enthusing that it is “bigger than bin Laden…a massive blow to the [Iranian] regime.” Dubowitz, whose credentials as an “Iran expert” are dubious at best, is at least somewhat right in this case. Qassem Soleimani is, to be sure, charismatic and also very popular in Iran. He is Iran’s most powerful military figure in the entire region, being the principal contact for proxies and allies in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. But what Dubowitz does not understand is that no one in a military hierarchy is irreplaceable. Soleimani’s aides and high officials in the intelligence ministry are certainly more than capable of picking up his mantle and continuing his policies.

In reality, the series of foolish attacks initiated by the United States over the past week will only hasten the departure of much of the U.S. military from the region. The Pentagon and White House have been insisting that Iran was behind an alleged Kata’ib Hezbollah attack on a U.S. installation that then triggered a strike by Washington on claimed militia targets in Syria and also inside Iraq. Even though the U.S. military presence is as a guest of the Iraqi government, Washington went ahead with its attack even after the Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi said “no.”

To justify its actions, Mark Esper, Secretary of Defense, went so far as to insist that “Iran is at war with the whole world,” a clear demonstration of just how ignorant the White House team actually is. The U.S. government characteristically has not provided any evidence demonstrating either Iranian or Kata’ib involvement in recent developments, but after the counter-strike killed 26 Iraqi soldiers, the mass demonstrations against the Embassy in Baghdad became inevitable. The demonstrations were also attributed to Iran by Washington even though the people in the street were undoubtedly Iraqis.

Now that the U.S. has also killed Soleimani and Muhandis in a drone strike at Baghdad Airport, clearly accomplished without the approval of the Iraqi government, it is inevitable that the prime minister will ask American forces to leave. That will in turn make the situation for the remaining U.S. troops in neighboring Syria untenable. And it will also force other Arab states in the region to rethink their hosting of U.S. soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen due to the law of unanticipated consequences as it is now clear that Washington has foolishly begun a war that serves no one’s interests.

The blood of the Americans, Iranians and Iraqis who will die in the next few weeks is clearly on Donald Trump’s hands as this war was never inevitable and served no U.S. national interest. It will surely turn out to be a debacle, as well as devastating for all parties involved. And it might well, on top of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya, be the long-awaited beginning of the end of America’s imperial ambitions. Let us hope so!

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

Zainab Qasem Suleimani Addresses Trump via Al-Manar: Had You Been Brave, You Would Have Confronted My Father Face-to-Face

January 5, 2020

The daughter of the martyr General Qasem Suleimani, Zainab, stressed via Al-Manar that the “dirty” US President Donald Trump must know his crime will never wipe out the remembrance of her father, adding that his martyrdom inspired rebirth in our souls.

“You could not be match rival to my father, so you targeted him with missiles. Had you been so, you would have confronted him face-to-face.”

The martyrdom of Hajj Qasem will never break us, and we will seek revenge till the end, ” Zainab Qasem Suleimani said.

Finally, Zainab Qasem Suleimani greeted the Supreme Leader Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei and Hezbollah SG Sayyed Nasrallah, expressing trust that they will both seek revenge on he father’s murderer.

“I salute our Uncle Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah who I am sure will take revenge for my father.”

Source: Al-Manar English Website