Kamala Harris and her heap of lies

All week long, the US citizens watched as the true base of the Democratic Party – billionaires, celebrities, national security figureheads and moderate Republicans – repeatedly assured us that Kamala Harris will be a different kind of president. A president of “joy.” But many found little room for joy in her speech Thursday night.

Instead, it revealed a great deal about what we can expect if Kamala becomes president – and none of it is good.

In a speech that could have easily been delivered by Joe Biden himself, Kamala promised to:

Sign Biden’s inhumane, militarized “bipartisan border bill” with 80% of the funding allocated to hardening border security and doubling the number of border patrol agents.

“Ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world” with unchecked resources for the Pentagon to continue waging “wars around the world”.

Unconditionally supply Israel with endless weapons, as she repeated Israel’s discredited propaganda around the October 07 attacks and pointedly ignored the widespread reports of Israeli soldiers using sexual violence, physical and psychological torture against illegally incarcerated Palestinian prisoners.

Kamala absurdly claimed that she and Biden are “working around the clock” to secure a ceasefire for Gaza – even as they’ve authorized another US$23 billion in arms for Israel in August alone.

Now we learn that the Joe-Kamala administration has appointed Mira Resnick, perhaps the most hands-on State Department official involved in speed-running weapons to Israel since October 07, to replace Andrew Miller – the 1st official to resign in protest over Gaza.

Kamala’s heap of lies delivered on Thursday night firmly established that nothing will fundamentally change.

Kamala made it clear that she intends to continue this reckless path of capitalistic exploitation and global militarism, even fanning the flames with China and Iran as tens of thousands of the party faithful waved signs and shouted “USA! USA!”

The world finds no joy in any of this.

There are material conditions that must be urgently addressed for this country to meet the basic needs of its citizens and take the citizens off this death march into World War III and climate collapse. None of those policy solutions were present in her speech.

Instead citizens were promised more of the same. And much like Biden before her, that may prove to be the one promise that Kamala Harris keeps.

Kamala has shown her true colors, and we have a prudent choice to make this November.

There has to be a campaign to the White House this November that could set the US citizens on a radically different course – one that ends the genocide in Gaza and implement an immediate arms embargo on Israel.

There has to be a campaign with the credibility to address the climate emergency with the urgency it demands. There has to be a campaign with a radically transformative economic vision that will lift millions out of poverty and build a society free of injustice, inequity, hunger, and want.

There has to be a campaign that could challenge the empire both at home and abroad. In just over two months, Americans will have to make their voice heard at the ballot box.

 

Jill Stein: Wildcard Entry in US Election

Jill Ellen Stein born on May 14, 1950, is an American physician, activist, politician. She is currently running for president in the 2024 United States presidential election. Her campaigns for president have focused heavily on the proposal of a Green New Deal, which includes a number of reforms intended to address climate change and income inequality, as well as civil and political rights reform.

She was the Green Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections and the Green-Rainbow Party's candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and 2010.

In 2012, Stein received 469,015 votes, which accounted for 0.36% of the popular vote; in 2016, she received 1.45 million votes or 1.07% of the popular vote.

Stein originally supported activist and scholar Cornel West's 2024 presidential campaign under the Green Party and became his campaign manager.

After West withdrew his bid for the Green presidential nomination in order to instead continue his run for the presidency as an independent, Stein retracted her endorsement for West and said the Green Party would find a nominee elsewhere. She also hinted at a possible bid of her own.

On November 09, 2023, Stein announced her third bid for president on X (formerly Twitter), citing her main priorities as being anti-war, paving the way for a Green New Deal, Universal Healthcare, and a "pledge to stop genocide”. 

Stein's campaign has been criticized by the Democratic Party as having the potential to erode Joe Biden's support in the general election among left-wing voters.

Republicans ask Biden to leave White House

Many Republicans quickly called on President Joe Biden to resign and leave the White House after his announcement on Sunday that he would withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.

Republican leaders said that Biden's decision to step aside confirmed their view that he was not in cognitive shape to serve as president — an issue that has dogged the Democrat since his disastrous debate last month.

"If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as president," said House Speaker Mike Johnson, the most powerful Republican in congress.

"He must resign the office immediately. November 05 cannot arrive soon enough," he added, referring to Election Day.

Biden, in announcing that he was dropping out, said he would stay in office until the end of his term in January.

The White House a few hours later on Sunday reiterated he would not resign, stating "He looks forward to finish his term and delivering more historic results for the American people."

Leading Republicans piled on with similar calls to resign throughout Sunday afternoon, as they also directed fresh attacks at Vice President Kamala Harris, who would move into the Oval Office should Biden resign. Biden has endorsed her to be the next Democratic nominee.

New York Representative Elise Stefanik, the Republican conference chair, made almost the exact same statement as Johnson's about Biden's ability to fulfill his presidential duties.

She closed her statement similarly as well, "He must immediately resign."

Biden's rival for president, Donald Trump, said the Democratic leader was "not fit to serve from the very beginning" in response to the announcement — though he did not call for the president to resign.

Senator Steve Daines of Montana, who chairs Senate Republicans' campaign arm, said that being president "is the hardest job in the world".

"And I no longer have confidence that Joe Biden can effectively execute his duties as Commander-in-Chief,” he said in a statement.

Another Republican senator, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, went further and appeared to suggest that Biden should be forced from office by exercising the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution — a never-used method to replace the president if he cannot fulfil his duties.

Critics of Trump had called for using the amendment to remove him when he was in office.

Many in the political world had been expecting to Biden to drop out of the race.

His rambling, frequently incoherent answers in the June 27 debate with Trump had stunned the country and left people wondering if he could serve as president for another four years. While in speeches and interviews Biden often showed renewed vigour, he was also dogged by major stumbles and seeming memory problems.

Democrats in Congress, worried that his shakiness would hurt their chances at re-election, and major donors began to press for him to drop out, but they did not press for him to resign.

The last president to abandon his election campaign, Lyndon B. Johnson, also served out the remainder of his term. Like Biden, Johnson had said that giving up the race would allow him to focus on his presidential duties.

As the pressure on Biden has grown in recent weeks, Republicans became more vocal about a resignation.

Just hours before the president announced he was stepping aside, Trump's new running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, said, "Not running for reelection would be a clear admission that President Trump was right all along about Biden not being mentally fit enough to serve as Commander-in-Chief. There is no middle ground."

"Joe Biden has been the worst President in my lifetime and Kamala Harris has been right there with him every step of the way," he added.

Biden has endorsed Kamala Harris to take up the mantle of the presidential campaign, although the party will still have to formally approve its nominee.

"I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination," Kamala said in a statement. "I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda."

Republicans have reportedly prepared to attack Kamala’s candidacy — as many believed she was the most likely successor.

Trump campaign sources have told US media outlets that they were readying attack ads and opposition research in case they faced her.

Most criticism centers on the vice president's lead role on immigration issues within the administration. Several speakers at the Republican convention last week portrayed Kamala as a failed "border czar".

Those attacks returned on Sunday.

Speaker Johnson called her "a completely inept border czar" and said she had been "a gleeful accomplice" in "the destruction of American sovereignty, security, and prosperity".

"She has known for as long as anyone of his incapacity to serve," he said, while also accusing her of being part of a political cover up of Biden's problems.

Republican Governor Greg Abbott of Texas, known for taking a hard line on immigration that has led to legal actions, also expressed concerns about Kamala becoming president.

"I think I will need to triple the border wall, razor wire barriers and National Guard on the border," he wrote on social media.

Donald Trump Jr. the former president's son, broadly said her policies would be no different than Biden's.

"Kamala Harris owns the entire left-wing policy record of Joe Biden. The only difference is that she is even more liberal and less competent than Joe, which is really saying something," he posted on X, formerly Twitter.

 

Can Kamala be first-ever woman president of United States?

President Joe Biden has offered his full support and endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee following his withdrawal from the 2024 US presidential race.

He announced on X that he will not accept the Democratic nomination for the 2024 presidential race, instead choosing to focus on his duties as President for the remainder of his term.

"My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term," Biden wrote.

He highlighted the significance of his initial decision in 2020 to select Harris as his running mate, calling it the best decision he has made.

Biden's endorsement of Harris comes as he urges the Democratic Party to unite in the effort to defeat former President Donald Trump. "Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it's time to come together and beat Trump. Let's do this," Biden stated.

This endorsement positions Harris as the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination, as the party prepares for the upcoming election.

Biden’s decision came as he has been isolating at his Delaware beach house after being diagnosed with COVID-19 last week, huddling with a shrinking circle of close confidants and family members about his political future. Biden said he would address the nation later this week to provide “detail” about his decision.

Now, Democrats have to urgently try to bring coherence to the nominating process in a matter of weeks and persuade voters in a stunningly short time that their nominee can handle the job and beat Trump. And for his part, Trump must shift his focus to a new opponent after years of training his attention on Biden.

The decision marks a swift and stunning end to Biden’s 52 years in electoral politics, as donors, lawmakers, and even aides expressed to him their doubts that he could convince voters that he could plausibly handle the job for another four years.

Harris, 59, appeared to be the natural successor, in large part because she is the only candidate who can directly tap into the Biden campaign’s war chest, according to federal campaign finance rules.

Biden’s backing helps clear the way for Harris, but a smooth transition is by no means assured.

The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to be held August 19-22 in Chicago, but the party had announced that it would hold a virtual roll call to formally nominate Biden before in-person proceedings begin.

It remained to be seen whether other candidates would challenge Harris for the nomination or how the party may need to adjust its rules again to smooth Harris’ nomination on the floor.

 

Iran questions authenticity of Reuters

Western media has an old habit of oversimplifying and misrepresenting governments and political systems in other parts of the world, especially in Iran. This tendency is rooted in long-held Western misconceptions about non-Western cultures and a need to rationalize Western dominance by portraying non-Western governments as inherently flawed and incapable. 

According to The Tehran Times, an article published by Reuters on July 18 was a perfect example of this lasting tradition. The article titled “how Iran's Khamenei elevated a little-known moderate to the presidency” claims that five people “with knowledge of the matter” informed Reuters about how the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei managed to raise voter turnout from an anticipated 13% to the 50% participation rate recorded on the second round of the snap presidential elections on July 05, 2024.

“When intelligence officials briefed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in May ahead of a snap presidential election, their report was grim, angered by economic hardship and crackdowns on social freedoms, most Iranians planned to boycott the vote and turnout would only be about 13%. That's when Khamenei decided to plan a carefully orchestrated election, setting the stage for a little-known but trusted moderate, Massoud Pezeshkian, to rise to the presidency in a race that would initially be dominated by hardliners, five people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters,” the article read. 

To discuss the article, we could deep dive and mention how quoting five unidentified sources means Reuters could pretty much be pulling information out of thin air; how unlikely it seems that five influential figures within the Iranian leadership would share sensitive information with a Western media outlet; and how there is no single evidence that suggests the late President Ebrahim Raisi could have been the successor to Ayatollah Khamenei. 

We could also point out that Reuters has a track record of lies. For example, in 2020, its initial report denied the Iranian attack on the American Ain al-Assad base in Iraq.

In March 2022, Reuters alleged that Saudi energy facilities had been attacked from Iranian soil and not Yemen.

In 2023, Reuters reported that Ayatollah Khamenei was displeased with Palestine's Hamas for not seeking counsel about Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, despite previously claiming that the October 07 operation happened after Iran’s “greenlight.”

All these reports were written based on information provided by unidentified “knowledgeable” figures, similar to what was published on July 18.

Instead of focusing on specific segments of this article and similar ones published before, we will be focusing on the bigger picture and try to understand the modus operandi employed in drafting them.

Western media coverage of the Iranian government and leadership usually has an underlying theme: everything in Iran is controlled by one person or entity and democratic processes don’t exist. Besides that, Western journalists usually portray Iran as simplistic, noncomplex, and dysfunctional. 

These two factors combined will make it easy to understand why Reuters felt the need to release a report based on information received from imaginary sources to undermine Iran's presidential elections. 

During the 2022 riots in Iran, at least some authorities in the West seemed to have come to the conclusion that the Islamic Republic was nearing its end. A previous exclusive report by the Tehran Times revealed that Washington had even come up with a 5-stage plan to topple the Iranian government, and was planning to recognize an alternative government similar to what it’s been doing against President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela.

Once the unrest died down and things got under control, Western states decided that while their initial perception may have been wrong, the 2022 saga still dealt an unrepairable blow to the Iranian government. The Islamic Republic did not collapse in 2022, but that was the beginning of the end for it. 

When snap presidential elections were held two years later in less than 50 days and 50% of the eligible voters participate, how is Western media supposed to cover that?

It turns to its good old habit of reducing the establishment to the plans and desires of a single figure.

In the view of Western media outlets, the success of the snap vote in Iran does not mean the West had misunderstood the nature and reverberations of the 2022 riots.

It means a single man had been plotting behind the scenes, and this man somehow managed to think of a plan that would drag 30 million people to the ballot box. And what was the plan? To allow a reformist figure to take part in the elections – something that’s happened in every presidential vote ever held in the country governed by reformists for a total of 32 years. 

 

Pezeshkian or Jalili: To be decided on Friday

Iranians are set to head to the polls on Friday, July 5, to choose their next president in a runoff election. Competition is tight between reformist Masoud Pezeshkian and conservative Saeed Jalili who respectively gained 10.41 million and 9.47 million votes during the preliminary round on June 28.

The incoming president will be stepping into the role left vacant by the untimely passing of President Ebrahim Raisi. Raisi tragically lost his life in a helicopter crash on May 19, with more than a year remaining in his term, and was anticipated to secure a second term in 2025.

With a campaign ban taking effect in the early hours of Thursday, we have decided to compare and contrast the plans, perspectives, and campaigns of the two candidates competing in the run-off election in this article.

Pezeshkian’s entrance into the presidential fray was sudden and unexpected. In his own words, he was not expecting to get qualified to run for president, as he had initially failed to get vetted as a nominee by the Guardian Council during the 2023 parliamentary elections.

In many of his debates and addresses to the Iranian populace, the reformist candidate said he needed to “consult experts” on economic and societal issues and refrained from detailing his agenda. While it is in no way bad to seek counsel from experts, some people had hoped that they would hear in more detail how Pezeshkian was planning to govern.

Jalili though, has campaigned for presidency multiple times in the past. He managed to outline more well-received plans and policies during debates. His remarks, however, have sometimes been deemed as too vague or too specific for the general public to understand. The fact that Jalili was allegedly a key contributor to the late President Raisi’s administration, also helped him hold a better grasp of the current issues in the country.

Pezeshkian’s entourage and key supporters are both a strong point and a point of weakness for him due to the reformists’ long and eventful time in office. Though, Pezeshkian has claimed that he does not align with any political party, any figure or former official ever seen besides him during his campaign has been a reformist or centrist.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, the former foreign minister who signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015, is one of the figures who’s garnered both support and disdain for Pezeshkian. Some like Zarif for having commenced close dialogue with the United States for the first time in decades, and some reprimand him for naively compromising on Iran’s nuclear capabilities without making sure that Washington would uphold its commitments.

As for Jalili, there is no denying that his entourage and associates have been a significant vulnerability for him. Some of his representatives ended up making extremely controversial and uncalculated remarks on TV, making it easier for reformists to stigmatize Jalili as an inflexible and hard figure.

Pezeshkian is seen as a critic of President Raisi’s government. He and his advisors have repeatedly accused the Raisi administration of not caring about the termination of sanctions, saying that a reformist comeback in return would ensure the “normalization” of ties with the West.

That’s while most analysts agree that Raisi’s only difference with his centrist predecessor Hassan Rouhani was that he did not believe in tying the country’s existence to the sanctions removal, and sought dialogue with not only the West but also countries outside the Western hemisphere.

Jalili’s potential administration is considered to be a continuation of martyr Raisi’s time in office. Jalili thinks Iran should make the West “regret” its shunning of the JCPOA. He has not explained how his potential administration plans to do that, but his remarks have been praised by some who believe there is no point in expecting sincerity from the West, as such an approach has failed Iran in the past.

Pezeshkian’s views on the economy seem to be more liberal than his opponent. He believes energy prices should increase and the government must have less control over the market.

Jalili on the other hand, is in favor of maintaining and increasing energy subsidies. He also believes that the government must incorporate public participation in the economy, but says the government must still act as a supervising body.

Courtesy: Tehran Times

 

US comments on Iranian presidential election

It was but anticipated that United States would criticize the presidential election being held in Iran. The readers must keep in mind: 1) United States believes that Iran’s emergence as regional power is eroding its hegemony in the Middle East and 2) Israel considers Iran its worst enemy, because of its growing might and resistance against normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia.

Deputy Special Envoy for Iran Abram Paley on June 26, said “As the Iranian regime prepares for its presidential elections, the US unfortunately has no expectation of free and fair elections or fundamental change in Iran’s direction. Of course, the candidates have been hand-picked by the Guardian Council, but we also know the Iranian people lack access to even the most basic freedoms; necessary features of any democracy. In the face of the authoritarian regime’s long history of harassing and intimidating journalists, suppressing election coverage, and denying freedom of peaceful of assembly, we support the Iranian people. The United States will continue to defend human rights in Iran, shine a light on the regime’s repression, and support a free and democratic future.”

State Department spokesperson on June 30 said, "The elections in Iran are not free and fair.”

"Unfortunately, we have no expectation that these elections, whatever the outcome, will lead to fundamental change in Iran’s direction or more respect by the Iranian regime for the human rights of Iran’s citizens.”

State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel on July 01 said, "We’re not in a position to confirm or – any turnout number or speculate on what the implications of that might mean for the Iranian regime. Our viewpoint is that even the Iranian Government’s official numbers about turnout are most – like most other things as it relates to the Iranian regime, are unreliable. Our view is that these elections in Iran are not free and fair, and we have no expectation that these elections and whatever the outcome might be will lead to a fundamental change in Iran’s direction or lead the Iranian regime to offer more respect for human rights and more dignity for its citizens."

 

Iran: Voting for presidential election on Friday

Iranian cities are buzzing with election fever as posters and placards adorn streets, big screens air presidential debates, and candidates crisscross the country in a bid to sway voters. 

Anticipation has swept across Iran and observers wonder whom Iranians will entrust with the presidency and the responsibility of leading the country, 40 days after the passing of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in northwestern Iran. 

Western media outlets, which rejoiced at the decreased voter turnout of around 50% in the 2021 presidential elections, appear poised for disappointment this time around. Estimates indicate that a significantly larger number of individuals will be casting their votes, despite the unprecedented levels of propaganda from Western and Israeli sources urging a boycott of the election.

“Channels such as BBC and International are urging us not to vote. It's puzzling how Iranians living abroad and receiving payment from Western governments or Zionists have the audacity to dictate our actions. We are concerned about the future of our country and want to elect the most suitable candidate. All these traitors and lackeys of the West can say whatever they want, we don’t care about them,” a man in his 20s told IRIB during a street interview. 

Rather than deciding to boycott the elections, Iranians are preoccupied with whom they should be voting for. "I feel a sense of duty as an Iranian to participate in the election. While I haven't made a final decision on my vote yet, I know I must make up my mind by Friday morning," shared an Iranian woman with IRIB reporters.

The race is close between two conservative contenders and one reformist candidate. Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Saeed Jalili, and Masoud Pezeshkian are currently leading the pack, and experts believe that if both conservative candidates remain in the race, elections could head to a second round. 

Reformist politicians have also shown great enthusiasm and hope in supporting the sole reformist candidate, Pezeshkian, after largely avoiding participation in election processes over the past three years, partly due to bitterness stemming from the significant loss of clout following the end of President Hassan Rouhani’s administration.

Rouhani, along with the influential figures Mohammad Khatami and Mohammad Javad Zarif, were among the most notable reformists making a return to the political scene by throwing their support behind Pezeshkian.

While the election outcome remains uncertain, one thing is clear, the June 28 vote will see Iranians rejecting external pressures from the West and Israel. Iranians will demonstrate their resilience and independence, and show up to choose their own path.

In this pursuit of independence, efforts by foreign forces to create politicization, especially in the field of foreign policy will also yield no results. Iranians now understand that every candidate’s purpose will be to terminate the sanctions while attempting to neutralize them at the same time. 

 

Asif Ali Zardari: The Prince of Guile

Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), has secured his second term as President of Pakistan, defeating Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the candidate backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Sunni Ittehad Council.

In the presidential election, Zardari garnered an overwhelming majority, securing 411 votes, while Achakzai managed to bag 181 votes, only one vote was rejected. To know more about the charismatic as well as mysterious character of Zardari read the details published in Dawn newspaper on February 23, 2024.

Even his rivals acknowledge that Zardari is a deal-maker par excellence. He has been written off and made a comeback so many times that his doubters have simply stopped trying.

You have heard the trope: Asif Ali Zardari is Machiavelli’s Il Principe personified. While that most certainly isn’t an endearment, it is perhaps not much of an insult either. Whether one accepts it or not, Zardari seems to have cracked the code to surviving and succeeding in the swampy wastelands of Pakistani politics. There are very few who can claim to have his guile, and none who can claim his political acumen.

Call it the politics of ‘mufahimat’ (understanding and reconciliation) or the politics of ‘mufadaat’ (interests and advanta­ges), the Zardari brand of deal-making has ensured that his star continues to shine.

“Chaos isn’t a pit,” go the memorable lines from Game of Thrones, one of the most popular TV show of our times. “Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fail and never get to try again. The fall breaks them.”

“And some are given a chance to climb. They refuse, they cling to the realm or the gods or love. Illusions. Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is.”

In the chaos of Pakistan’s politics, none has climbed the ladder higher or more successfully than Zardari. He has been thrown off again and again, yet refused to let his falls break him.

He has seized every opportunity to play the game, and won it with an unlikely hand too many times.

The young Zardari was a notorious playboy who often ended up in brawls at Karachi’s casinos. He was known for his then-famous father, Hakim Ali Zardari, who had been elected as an MNA on a PPP ticket to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s first assembly.

The two were said to be close at one time, but fell out at some stage, following which the elder Zardari had exited the PPP. At one time, both father and son supported the anti-Bhutto alliance.

The Zardaris were otherwise regarded as a liberal Sindhi family who ran a successful entertainment business centred around their two cinemas. The son, at one point, had also tried his hand in the construction business, but was not successful.

The family’s name shot to national prominence when, through a common family connection, the Zardari scion’s marriage was arranged with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s daughter and protégé, the late Benazir Bhutto. Benazir was well-loved and internationally known: it was natural for the spotlight to shine on her soon-to-be-husband. On the night of their wedding, the two celebrated with thousands of well-wishers, most of them common folk, at Lyari’s Kakri Ground.

The event seemed as political as it was personal, and it catapulted Zardari onto the national stage.

The very next year, in 1988, Ms Bhutto was elected Pakistan’s first woman prime minister.  Zardari landed in Prime Minister House, and quickly went to work turning around his personal fortunes. It wasn’t long before Ms Bhutto’s first government was mired in scandals of all sha­des and sizes. It was during this time that Zardari earned the title of ‘Mr 10 percent’.

The axe would fall as soon as Ms Bhutto’s government was dismissed. Among the numerous cases filed against Zardari was one involving abduction for extortion. Zardari was accused of abducting a businessman, strapping a bomb to him, and sending him to the bank to withdraw a large sum of money from his account. The case ran in an anti-terrorism court between 1990 and 1993. Nothing ever came of it.

It was during Ms Bhutto’s next government that Zardari finally started being regarded as one of the most powerful men in the country. He got his own office within PM House, and was even made a federal minister. After that government was also dismissed, he was arrested immediately. A slew of new cases were filed against him, and Zardari once again found himself in jail. Once again, he was never convicted.

Zardari’s by then lengthy record and the length of time he had spent behind bars, without ever being convicted, added to his legend. He quickly came to be regarded as a shrewd wheeler-dealer who could get out of the stickiest situations without any fatal consequences.

It was Ms Bhutto’s tragic assassination that proved to be another turning point in Zardari’s fortunes. Though he had deferred to his spouse’s politics during her lifetime, the mantle of the PPP now fell to him.

His shrewd, calculating nature came to his aid, and benefit. Having decided that General Musharraf needed to go, Zardari played a cunning hand, using the army chief at the time to get Musharraf evicted from the presidency. No one at the time realized that Zardari actually wanted the job for himself.

The presidency solidified his grip on power. Although he buried Article 58(2)(b) of the Constitution as president, the PPP government continued to be run from the President House, with key decisions always in Zardari’s hands.

Although that term led to speculation that the PPP would be wiped out from nearly everywhere except Sindh, Zardari had prepared in advance with the 18th Amendment. It allowed him to keep a foot in the corridors of power while plotting his comeback for another time.

In recent years, with rival parties much larger than his own engaged in a long-running death match, Zardari did not take his eyes off the ladder.

After the 2024 elections, he has emerged as a kingmaker yet again. He has also managed to secure the maximum concessions for his own party (and himself), while giving very little to the PML-N in return.

Even his fiercest rivals begrudgingly acknowledge that Zardari is a deal-maker par excellence. He has been written off and made a comeback so many times that his doubters have simply stopped trying.

They say that “the only thing certain in life is death and taxes”; in Pakistan, it might as well be “death, taxes, and Zardari’s political relevance”.

The man has been derided as a Machiavellian leader, a shrewd and cunning politician interested only in self-enrichment. Yet, he is also the first democratically elected president to serve out a five-year tenure, and likely to become the only person to have held that office twice.

 

 

What is behind recent turmoil in Lebanon?

Lebanon has witnessed a number of incidents over the past weeks that have made the headlines. Armed clashes broke out at Ain al-Hilweh, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Southern Lebanon, between the Fatah faction and extremist militants, which Prime Minister Najib Mikati blamed on outside forces and their repeated attempts to use Lebanon as a battleground for the settling of scores.

Between July 29 and August 02, explosions and gunshots shook the camp, resulting in at least 12 deaths, dozens of injuries, and the displacement of around 2,000 people.

There are different narratives about how the fighting started, but it made international headlines. It is unlike the killing of Palestinians by Israelis in the occupied West Bank or the besieged Gaza Strip. 

At the same time, the Saudi Arabian embassy in Beirut issued a call on its citizens to leave Lebanon and not to travel to areas where there are armed clashes. The embassy did not specify which areas to avoid. 

A statement stressed the importance of adhering to the Saudi travel ban to Lebanon. A few other Persian Gulf states also updated their travel advice for Lebanon. 

Some analysts also went on regional media predicting things to turn ugly in light of the Saudi warning. 

However, several days have passed, and nothing has happened, with the exception of damage incurred to the Lebanese tourism industry. 

Sources have told news outlets close to Hezbollah that the statements of the Persian Gulf embassies were merely political and related to the presidential election. 

A ceasefire is in place at the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp and appears to be holding. 

It's not the first time that fighting has erupted at the camp or other Palestinian refugee camps in Southern Lebanon. 

The Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, condemned the fighting during a speech delivered on the Day of Ashura, saying it only undermines the resistance against the Israeli enemy. 

During the speech, Sayyed Nasrallah also warned Israel against its occupation of Lebanese territory along the border with the occupied Palestinian territories. 

On Tuesday, the Lebanese army organized a field tour along the Blue Line for representatives of member states of the UN Security Council accredited to Lebanon in the presence of local, regional, and international media.

The tour included a presentation of the Blue Line (a border line between Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territories published by the United Nations on June 07, 2000 for the purposes of determining whether Israel had fully withdrawn from Lebanon) with detailed information about the points of contention. 

Upon arrival, two Israeli gunboats violated Lebanese territorial waters in full view of the international delegation.

The delegation also moved to a Lebanese army station at Ras al-Naqouras adjacent to an Israeli watchtower, where surveillance cameras, jamming and listening devices, other espionage equipment as well as troops are holed up in it.  

Some army officers in the Fifth Brigade explained to the international diplomats the extent of the Israeli violations on Lebanese territory.

Then Brigadier General Mounir Shehadeh delivered a speech in which he affirmed, “Lebanon has reservations about these violations, including 13 border positions still occupied by the Zionist enemy," stressing that the border demarcation was completed in 1923 and that Lebanon will never accept any amendments. 

"These areas at the southern border have been recorded since the adoption of the Blue Line, and therefore they are a line of withdrawal (for Israeli occupation) and not a demarcation of the borders," General Shehadeh stated.

The demarcation of Lebanon’s border with Palestine took place in 1923. It was then enshrined in an armistice agreement in 1949.
Shehadeh stressed, “Lebanon does not care about what is said about a land demarcation, and that this word is not present in our dictionary as a Lebanese army and as a Lebanese government. We are talking about fixing the borders and showing the Lebanese borders, not demarcating the borders.”  

"When the Blue Line was drawn up in the year 2000 by the United Nations, it came in more than one place that does not coincide with international borders, and we called it a line of withdrawal, not a border line, and therefore we seek that the Blue Line becomes identical with what is identified in internationally."

He concluded by stressing, "We will preserve Lebanon's right to every grain of soil from its land, and this is what we are doing."

Israel has called on Lebanon via international mediators to remove two tents set up by Hezbollah in the Sheba'a Farm area. Beirut's response was that the two tents are located on Lebanese territory.

Tensions have escalated further recently after Israel re-occupied northern Ghajar village, southeast Lebanon. 

Israeli media reports have said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet his top military commanders to study the situation. 

During his Ashura speech, Nasrallah issued a warning to Israeli political and military leaders saying, "Be careful of any stupidity. The resistance in Lebanon will not step back from its duty. It is ready for any option, danger, or stupidity."

He pointed out, "Israel speaks of Hezbollah threats on the border when the regime has the nerve to occupy our territory."

In the last Israeli war against Lebanon in July 2006, the regime acknowledged its defeat, as it was taken aback by the strength of Hezbollah's power. 

According to experts, the Lebanese resistance has between 100,000 to 150,000 soldiers along with a wide array of powerful missiles and other sophisticated weapons it has kept secret. 

Experts believe that if Israel were to wage a war against Lebanon today, Hezbollah is capable of capturing the entire Galilee region and perhaps more (northern occupied Palestinian territories) within the first two to three days of the war. 

That is one-third of the entire occupied Palestinian territories. 

Many things have changed since July 2006. Not only has Hezbollah become more powerful, but the region has changed. 

There is a possibility that any Israeli war on Lebanon would draw in Iraq’s Hashd al-Sha'abi, Yemen's Ansarullah as well as the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip and the newly formed resistance in the occupied West Bank. Syria would also find a good opportunity to liberate the Golan Heights and attack from that direction.

Israel can assassinate resistance figures from the air. But with the introduction of drones on the battlefield, the regime's air superiority is no longer efficient, according to experts. 

When it comes to land combat, the regime has proven its cowardness, experts say. 

Israel can launch a war against Lebanon's Hezbollah, but as Sayyed Nasrallah noted, it would be "stupid" to do so.
 

Ebrahim Raisi Elected New President of Iran

The moderate candidate in Iran's presidential election has conceded loss in the country's presidential race to the country's hard-line judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi.

Former Central Bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati wrote on Instagram to judiciary chief Raisi early on Saturday.

"I hope your administration provides causes for pride for the Islamic Republic of Iran, improves the economy and life with comfort and welfare for the great nation of Iran."

According to preliminary vote count, Raisi won 62 percent or 17.8 million votes, to Rezaei's 3.3 million and Hemmati's 2.4 million, said Jamal Orf, the head of Iran's Interior Ministry election headquarters.

The fourth candidate, Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi received around one million votes, Orf said.

The official said more than 28 million Iranians out of 59 million eligible voters had cast ballots.

The initial results announced also appeared to show the race had the country's lowest turnout of any vote since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. However, the vote had no international observers to monitor the election in line with past years.

Vote count was still underway, but reports suggest Raeisi could be winning by a big margin.

Iran's moderate President Hassan Rouhani announced his successor had been elected, but did not name the widely expected victor.

"I congratulate the people on their choice," said Rouhani after Friday's vote as other candidates also congratulated Raisi. "My official congratulations will come later, but we know who got enough votes in this election and who is elected today by the people."

Raisi did not immediately acknowledge Hemmati's concession, nor that of former Revolutionary Guard commander Mohsen Rezaei, who also conceded the loss.

Mohsen Rezaei's concession in a post on Twitter came as Iran's outgoing President Hassan Rouhani also acknowledged the winner in the country's vote Friday was "clear," though he didn't immediately name judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi. 

On Twitter, Rezaei praised Khamenei and the Iranian people for taking part in the vote.

"God willing, the decisive election of my esteemed brother, Ayatollah Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, promises the establishment of a strong and popular government to solve the country's problems," Rezaei wrote.

The election on Friday was dominated by Raisi, a protégé of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after the disqualification of the strongest competitors who could have challenged him in the vote. 

As night fell Friday, turnout appeared far lower than in Iran’s last presidential election in 2017. 

Iranians casting votes to elect new president

Iranian Presidential election being held on 18th June 2021, highlight a transition of society. Whatever may be the outcome the hostility between United States and Iran must be ended. While older generation may still be with hardliners, the younger generation ‑ born and grown under economic sanctions ‑ wants a change. It would be good if the process of easing begins now or the rebel groups may start seeking foreign help.

Nearly 60 million eligible voters in Iran will decide the fate of four candidates to succeed President Hassan Rouhani. Iranians voted in a presidential election on Friday amid concerns over a low turnout with the conservative head of the judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi, widely seen as the front-runner.

“If elected, Raisi will be the first Iranian president in recent memory to have not only been sanctioned before he has taken office, but potentially sanctioned while being in office,” said analyst Jason Brodsky.

Raisi – who like his political patron the supreme leader is an implacable critic of the West – is under US sanctions for alleged involvement in executions of political prisoners decades ago.

With uncertainty surrounding Iran’s efforts to revive its 2015 nuclear deal and growing poverty at home after years of United States sanctions, the turnout for the voters is being portrayed by some analysts as a referendum on the current leadership’s handling of an array of crises. Voter enthusiasm was dampened by the disqualification of many candidates and the deep economic malaise

Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Tehran, said there is lot of support behind Raisi. “The general public has one thing on their mind that they want some change from the moderate and reformist government they have seen over the past eight years,” she said.

“There is a sense that the economic situation in the country is not going to change any time soon. So they are hoping Raisi will bring some kind of change.”

Iranian opposition groups abroad and some dissidents at home have urged a boycott of the vote they see as an engineered victory for Raisi.

A win for Raisi would confirm the political demise of pragmatist politicians such as Rouhani, weakened by the US decision to quit the nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions in a move that stifled rapprochement with the West.

But it would not disrupt Iran’s bid to revive the agreement and break free of tough oil and financial sanctions, Iranian officials say, with the country’s ruling elite aware their political fortunes rely on tackling worsening economic hardship.

Tensions remain high with both the United States and Israel, which is believed to have carried out a series of attacks targeting Iranian nuclear sites and assassinating the scientist who created its military atomic program decades earlier.

Will Ebrahim Raisi be next President of Iran?

Ebrahim Raisi, from the hard-liner camp, is being termed handpicked candidate of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for the position of President as well as eventual pick to succeed himself. His positive statement toward Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) turned many heads. The front-runner and Judiciary Chief, Raisi has embraced the possibility of returning to the 2015 nuclear deal as long as Iran’s interests are met.

Raisi made the statement in a series of presidential debates that have been taking place since last week in the lead up to Presidential Election scheduled for 18th June 2021.

A mark of his campaign has been Iranian self-resilience and the “resistance economy” having the ability to overcome American sanctions by producing more critical items for everyday life domestically.

In general, Raisi has slammed current President Hassan Rouhani and his pragmatist camp as being too compromising with the United States and the West.

In contrast, his recent statement that he would not oppose a return to the JCPOA in the right circumstances is not that different from Rouhani and pragmatist policy.

The main difference between the hard-liner and pragmatist camp may simply be a matter of months.

If Rouhani would have preferred a return to the deal before the 18th June Election, both to enhance his legacy and to empower another pragmatist candidate, the latest predictions are that Raisi and Khamenei prefer that a deal wait until August, when the new president would take office.

Raisi’s somewhat pro-JCPOA statement was also noteworthy as in an earlier debate he had been criticized for undermining relations with the West and his response had evaded addressing the JCPOA as an issue head-on.

His follow-up answer in a later debate could signal a clear process to prepare the hard-liner base for compromising with the West and the US in substance, even if the tone will continue to be one of conflict.

During the presidential election of 2017, Raisi made some similar election season statements moderating his stance that he would abide by the JCPOA despite his and the hard-liners’ frequent criticism of talks with the West.

However, in that election Rouhani defeated Raisi, who came in second place with almost 16 million votes, or close to 40% of actual voters.

This time, Khamenei’s Guardian Council disqualified all viable contenders from rival camps who could have beaten Raisi, including even the current vice president and a former parliamentary speaker, reportedly to guarantee his victory.

None of the six other candidates approved to run are viewed as serious national contenders and the debates are viewed by many Iranians as going through the motions.

Experts predict the election turnout could be an all-time low, but by holding debates with six other candidates and making positive statements about the JCPOA, the hard-liners appear to be trying to build Raisi’s legitimacy to some degree.

Israel elects new President

Jewish Agency chairman Isaac Herzog will be the 11^th President of Israel after he received 87 votes from MKs in a secret ballot vote in the Knesset plenum. Herzog's opponent, Miriam Peretz, prize-winning educator of Israel received 27 votes and three MKs abstained. Had she been elected, Peretz would have become Israel’s first woman president.

It was the largest victory in any presidential election in Israel's history. Herzog will take over from the current President Reuven Rivlin when his term ends on 9th July 2021.

Herzog thanked all the MKs who voted for him and said it was an honor to serve the entire people of Israel. He called Peretz a hero and an inspiration.

"I will be the president of everyone," Herzog said, singling out Israelis across the political spectrum and Diaspora Jewry.

Herzog said alongside Netanyahu that he was ready to work with any government and any prime minister.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yamina leader Naftali Bennett, who is trying to replace him, congratulated Herzog and wished Peretz well.

Rivlin spoke with Herzog on the phone, and also called Miriam Peretz to thank her.

“I send you my warmest greetings, Mr. President,” Rivlin said. “I can tell you that the responsibility of the role that you are about to assume is unlike anything you have done until now. The Jewish and democratic system we established here, in the land of our ancestors, has a body and soul. If the Knesset is a place of argument, as we have certainly seen recently, the President's Residence is a place of discourse, partnership and statehood.”

Rivlin said the title of ‘first citizen’ and the task of guarding the character of the State of Israel, particularly at this point in time, are heavy responsibilities.

"I have no doubt that you will bear these responsibilities superbly," Rivlin said. "I am proud to pass on the baton to you in a month’s time.”

With his victory, Herzog become the first president whose father had been president. Chaim Herzog was Israel's sixth president. 

Both Herzog, who visited the Western Wall on Tuesday to pray for success, and Peretz continued their efforts to meet with as many MKs as possible ahead of the vote.

Every Knesset faction granted its MKs the freedom to vote their conscience, rather than binding them by faction discipline. None of the factions endorsed a candidate.

This is the first presidential race in Israel in which none of the candidates were current MKs.

Peretz said she was thrilled that after her background coming to Israel from Morocco and going to a transit camp, she was considered worthy to stand against someone of Herzog's caliber. She said she would continue in her mission to heal the rifts in the nation.

In her concession speech, alongside Netanyahu, Peretz said that by running, she accomplished what as a child she could not have even dreamed of.

"A fitting president who honors us was elected," Peretz said. "I will pray for his success, because his success is our success."

Michael Siegal, The Jewish Agency’s Chairman of the Board of Governors, said Herzog's "unwavering dedication to the Jewish people and to serving the State of Israel is an inspiration, and we will all undoubtedly continue to benefit from his leadership."