US troops arrive in Poland to reinforce NATO

The dichotomy of Military Policy of United States is evident. It recently asked 160 troops to move out of Ukraine, but landed fresh troops in Poland. The troops reinforcing NATO allies in Eastern Europe arrived at a military base in southeastern Poland on Saturday.

The US troops arrived in a small Beechcraft C-12 Huron that landed at Rzeszow military base on February  05, Polish military spokesman Major Przemyslaw Lipczynski told the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

Lipczynski said the arrivals included some support and command-level staff, adding that a much larger contingent is expected to arrive at the airfield on Sunday. The second transport was initially slated for arrival on Saturday afternoon, but those plans were changed for undisclosed reasons, Lipczynski added.

“We await the arrival of our allies,” Lipczynski told PAP, adding that “our collaboration has been going very smoothly.”

In total, some 1,700 US soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, are expected to be stationed in Poland, the spokesman said, describing it as an elite rapid response force that Polish troops have worked with on multiple occasions.

“We served alongside them on missions, including Iraq and Afghanistan,” Lipczynski said, adding that the soldiers had also trained together during international war games like Dragon and Anaconda.

“We can count on each other, and trust one another,” he added.

The US troop contingent arrived on the same day that the Russian Defense Ministry announced it had sent a pair of long-range nuclear-capable bombers on patrol over Moscow ally Belarus, which shares a border with Poland.

“In the course of their flight, the long-range aircraft practiced joint tasks with the air force and air defense of the Belarusian armed forces,” according to Russian state news agency TASS. The patrol mission lasted around four hours, after which the Russian planes returned to base in Russia.

The patrol mission came as the Kremlin has moved troops from Siberia and other remote parts of Russia to Belarus for sweeping joint drills, with the deployment adding to a large Russian military buildup near Ukraine that has fueled Western fears of a possible invasion.

Russia has denied any plans of attacking Ukraine and has asked the United States and its allies for a binding commitment that they won’t accept Ukraine into NATO.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed for his country’s admission into the military alliance.

The Kremlin has also asked the United States and its allies to promise not to deploy offensive weapons and to roll back NATO deployments to Eastern Europe.

Washington and NATO have rejected those demands.

“From our perspective it can’t be clearer—NATO’s door is open, remains open, and that is our commitment,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in late January, though he renewed an offer of “reciprocal” measures to address mutual security concerns between Russia and NATO, including missile reductions in Europe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled Moscow’s readiness for more talks with Washington and its NATO allies.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were scheduled to make separate trip to Kyiv and Moscow as part of a high-level diplomatic effort to defuse tensions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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First US Troops Arrive in Poland to Reinforce NATO Amid Russia–Ukraine Tensions

By Tom Ozimek

 

February 5, 2022 Updated: February 6, 2022

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The first U.S. troops reinforcing NATO allies in Eastern Europe amid Russia–Ukraine tensions arrived at a military base in southeastern Poland on Saturday.

A handful of U.S. troops arrived in a small Beechcraft C-12 Huron that landed at Rzeszow military base shortly after 10 a.m. on Feb. 5, Polish military spokesman Major Przemyslaw Lipczynski told the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

Lipczynski said the arrivals included some support and command-level staff, adding that a much larger contingent is expected to arrive at the airfield on Sunday. The second transport was initially slated for arrival on Saturday afternoon, but those plans were changed for undisclosed reasons, Lipczynski added.

“We await the arrival of our allies,” Lipczynski told PAP, adding that “our collaboration has been going very smoothly.”

In total, some 1,700 U.S. soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, are expected to be stationed in Poland, the spokesman said, describing it as an elite rapid response force that Polish troops have worked with on multiple occasions.

“We served alongside them on missions, including Iraq and Afghanistan,” Lipczynski said, adding that the soldiers had also trained together during international war games like Dragon and Anaconda.

“We can count on each other, and trust one another,” he added.

The U.S. troop contingent arrived on the same day that the Russian Defense Ministry announced it had sent a pair of long-range nuclear-capable bombers on patrol over Moscow ally Belarus, which shares a border with Poland.

“In the course of their flight, the long-range aircraft practiced joint tasks with the air force and air defense of the Belarusian armed forces,” the ministry said, according to Russian state news agency TASS. The patrol mission lasted around four hours, after which the Russian planes returned to base in Russia.

The patrol mission came as the Kremlin has moved troops from Siberia and other remote parts of Russia to Belarus for sweeping joint drills, with the deployment adding to a large Russian military buildup near Ukraine that has fueled Western fears of a possible invasion.

Russia has denied any plans of attacking Ukraine and has asked the United States and its allies for a binding commitment that they won’t accept Ukraine into NATO.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed for his country’s admission into the military alliance.

The Kremlin has also asked the United States and its allies to promise not to deploy offensive weapons and to roll back NATO deployments to Eastern Europe.

Washington and NATO have rejected those demands.

“From our perspective. I can’t be more clear—NATO’s door is open, remains open, and that is our commitment,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in late January, though he renewed an offer of “reciprocal” measures to address mutual security concerns between Russia and NATO, including missile reductions in Europe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled Moscow’s readiness for more talks with Washington and its NATO allies.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are set to make separate trips on Feb. 7–8 and Feb. 14–15 to Kyiv and Moscow as part of a high-level diplomatic effort to defuse tensions.

 

Lloyd Austin orders 160 US troops to move out of Ukraine

I have often highlighted in my blogs that hundreds of CIA operators work in different countries, where the United States has vested interest. The most naked was the involvement of US Ambassador in Bin Ghazi, capital of Libya, who was killed later. 

The latest is the order of US Defense Secretary to 160 US troops in Ukraine to reposition themselves in Europe.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered 160 US troops in Ukraine to be repositioned in Europe. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby tweeted Saturday that Austin has ordered 160 Florida National Guardsmen out of Ukraine and into Europe temporarily.

“Abundance of caution, safety and security of our personnel is his paramount concern. We remain committed to our relationship with the Ukrainian armed forces,” Kirby said.

The decision came after Austin had a call with Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu.

The Department of Defense said the two discussed Russia’s build up of troops and equipment along Ukraine's border. 

Russia has more than 140,000 troops on the border of Ukraine as well as military vehicles and helicopters. The buildup has remained for weeks now, prompting the US, Canada, UK and its allies that Russia will invade. 

The announcement from Kirby comes as the US continues to encourage Americans — both government employees and other citizens — to leave the Ukraine amid threats of Russian aggression. 

White House Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday that the US would not send in troops to the country for rescue missions should Americans choose to stay in the former Soviet state. 

The State Department announced early Saturday morning that it was evacuating most employees from the US Embassy in Kyiv, citing the military situation on the border. 

US officials say an attack by Russia could happen at any time in the near future. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday there will be a "resolute, massive, and united Transatlantic response" if an invasion occurs, and thousands of US troops have been sent to Poland amid rising tensions.

Trucker blockades at US-Canada border crossings

Blockades at major United States-Canada border crossings caused by truckers protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates could worsen the existing car shortage that has driven up prices to record levels.

The skyrocketing cost of cars and trucks — which has played a major role in fueling the 40-year high inflation rate in United States was just beginning to level off before truckers blocked the Ambassador Bridge and with it the most efficient way to transport auto parts between Canada and the US 

Without access to key components, auto manufacturers were forced to shut down some of their plants and some factories remain closed or are operating at reduced capacity.

Toyota delayed production at its plants in West Virginia, Alabama and Kentucky, affecting its output of its best-selling RAV4 vehicle, the company said Friday, adding the disruptions could continue through the weekend. 

Ford said that two of its Ontario-based factories are running at reduced capacity and an Ohio plant had to shut down. General Motors said it resumed production at its Michigan factory on Friday after canceling two shifts on Thursday. 

The situation could get worse if the blockade doesn’t end soon, according to the American Automotive Policy Council, Equipment Manufacturers Association and Original Equipment Suppliers Association. 

“The US automakers and suppliers are doing everything possible to maximize production with what they have, working to keep lines running and shifts scheduled to minimize the impact on American autoworkers, but the situation has already led to reduced production and may spread the longer the disruptions persist,” the groups said in a statement.

Production cuts and delays are bad news for the already meager US inventory of cars and trucks of roughly one million vehicles, down from more than 3 million in a normal year, according to J.D. Power.

Insufficient supply caused the price of used cars and trucks to increase by a stunning 40.5% in the year ending in January 2022, while the price of new vehicles grew by 12.2%, according to a Labor Department report released Thursday.

Those are some of the biggest price jumps of any product or service included in the report, which found that overall consumer prices increased by 7.5% annually, the fastest rate since February 1982.

The blockade could upend the trend. The Ambassador Bridge carries 25% of Canada’s trade with the US, with more than 8,000 trucks crossing the bridge on a typical day.

Workers in the Michigan auto industry alone may have lost up to US$51 million in wages this week due to production slowdowns, a number that would climb dramatically if the blockade continues, according to an analysis from the Anderson Economic Group.

“We are at an economic crisis at this moment because of this illegal blockade,” Michigan Governor. Gretchen Whitmer told CNN.

Experts say that the impact of the protests isn’t comparable to the semiconductor shortage, which forced automakers to cut production dramatically because they couldn’t get their hands on computer chips. This time around, manufacturers are working out other ways to get their hands on auto parts, such as air transport.

A Canadian judge on Friday ordered the protestors to end the blockade, though it remained unclear just how and when their trucks would be removed.

The protestors, dubbed the “Freedom Convoy,” have been blocking the bridge for five days in addition to disrupting another key US-Canada border crossing near Alberta. On Friday, they agreed to open one lane of traffic on the Ambassador Bridge for vehicles entering Canada but continued to block vehicles going into the US.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency on Friday afternoon that will allow the Canadian province to fine protesters blocking the bridge up to US$100,000 and sentence them to up to a year in jail.  

Canadian business groups have warned that if the government doesn't crack down on the protests, US companies could view the nation as an unreliable trading partner.

The US Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers and Business Roundtable, three of the largest business lobbying groups in the US, called on the Canadian government to intervene on Thursday night to prevent “production cuts, shift reductions, and temporary plant closures” 

“The North American economy relies on our ability to work closely together, including our manufacturing sectors,” the groups said in a statement. “We need to apply the same spirit of cooperation to tackle this problem.”

US President Joe Biden this week urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to end the crisis and offered American support, though Trudeau has insisted on working with local leaders rather than have the Canadian government step in.

Canada implemented a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for foreigners entering the country on January 15, this year, while the US enacted its own border mandate on January 22.

The rule drew criticism from some US business groups, which said that it would further exacerbate supply chain disruptions stemming from a shortage of truck drivers and chassis.

Anne Reinke, President and CEO of the Transportation Intermediaries Association, said that the cross-border mandate has made it far more difficult to find truckers willing to haul goods between the United States and Canada, driving up transportation prices. 

“By itself, the vaccine mandate would be bearable, but now along with all the other headwinds, it’s becoming a real huge challenge,” she said. “Ultimately, there’s a ripple effect on the consumer.”

 

Palestinian groups reject appointment of Abbas loyalists

Three Palestinian groups – Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) have rejected the appointment of loyalists of Palestinian Authority (PA) President, Mahmoud Abbas to senior positions in the PLO.

“No recognition of, and no legitimacy to, the appointments announced by the Palestinian Central Council (PCC) during its illegitimate meeting on Sunday and Monday,” the groups said in a joint statement.

The 142-member PCC – a key decision-making body of the PLO – consists of various PLO factions, including the PFLP. Hamas and PIJ are not part of the PLO or any of its bodies.

During the session in Ramallah earlier, the council approved the appointment of Abbas associates Hussein al-Sheikh, Rouhi Fattouh, Mohammed Mustafa and Ramzi Khoury to fill vacancies in the PLO Executive Committee and its parliament in exile, the Palestinian National Council (PNC).

Abbas’s critics said that he convened the council to promote his loyalists, especially Sheikh, and consolidate his power over the Palestinian leadership.

Sheikh, 62, head of the Palestinian General Authority of Civil Affairs, is regarded as one of Abbas’s most trusted aides. Some Palestinians are convinced that the 86-year-old Abbas is grooming him as his successor.

Sheikh was elected to replace Saeb Erekat, who served as Secretary General of the PLO Executive Committee and chief Palestinian negotiator until his death in 2020.

Fattouh, another longtime Abbas associate, was chosen as speaker of the PNC, replacing Salim Zanoun, who retired after 30 years on the job.

Mustafa and Khoury, who are also closely associated with Abbas, were picked by the PCC members to serve as members of the PLO Executive Committee, the organization’s most important decision-making body.

The promotion of the Abbas loyalists is seen by some Palestinians as an attempt by the PA president to determine the identity of the future leaders of the Palestinians.

The appointments, in addition, send a message to the Palestinians, Israel and the US that their next leaders will continue with the same policies of Abbas.

The rare joint statement by Hamas, PIJ and the PFLP said that the appointments “do not represent our people, and constitute a breach of the national consensus and a suppression of the will of the Palestinian people.”

The groups called on the Palestinian leadership to immediately cancel the appointments and end its hegemony over Palestinian institutions. They further called for the establishment of a transitional PNC that would pave the way for holding general elections.

The parliamentary and presidential elections were supposed to take place in May and July. Abbas, however, called off the elections on the pretext that Israel had refused to allow them to take place in Jerusalem. Abbas’s political rivals have rejected the claim, saying he canceled the vote over fear that his fragmented and corruption-riddled Fatah faction would lose.

Hamas, PIJ and PFLP said in their statement that there will be no return to the Oslo track, referring to the 1993 accords signed between the PLO and Israel. The groups stressed that the only way to deal with Israel was through resistance, and called for the formation of a national unified command of the popular resistance to act against IDF soldiers and settlers.

The PCC issued a final communiqué on Wednesday night saying that it has decided to end security coordination between PA security forces and the IDF, and suspend Palestinian recognition of Israel. The statement, issued a day after the IDF killed three Fatah gunmen in Nablus, is seen as an attempt by the PA leadership to placate the Palestinian public.

A similar statement issued by the council in 2018 was completely ignored by the PA leadership.

The three men killed were responsible for a series of shooting attacks on soldiers and settlers in the Nablus area in the past few weeks. Their killing sparked widespread anger among many Palestinians, some of whom claimed that this was the direct result of the security coordination with Israel.

The slain gunmen belonged to Fatah’s al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Some of their friends in Nablus accused the PA of helping Israel track them down, noting that two of them had been previously harassed and threatened by the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank.

The PCC decision to end security coordination and suspend Palestinian recognition of Israel has not been taken seriously by many Palestinians, including members of Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction.

“I thought I was reading the same statement that the council issued in 2018,” said a senior Fatah official in Ramallah. “Whoever issued the statement on Wednesday must think that the Palestinians are stupid. Everyone knows that decisions like these are just intended for international consumption and are never implemented.”

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem played down the significance of the PCC statement, saying its decisions will remain ink on paper. The council meeting, he said, did not represent the aspirations of the Palestinians.

Iran accuses Saudi Arabia for financing anti-Iran elements

Iran has alleged Saudi Arabia for financing anti-Iran elements. It is being said that the controversial anti-Iran satellite channel, Ahwazna TV in Rijswijk is being financed by the Saudi intelligence service. 

The Saudis were also billed for demonstrations by the separatist movement ASMLA.

The financing of the TV channel and at least one demonstration in The Hague is apparent from research by Argos, the Danish public broadcaster DR and the Norwegian NRK.

The Denmark-based leadership of the Arab-Iranian movement ASMLA requested and received large sums through the Saudi intelligence service for its organization in Europe and its armed branch in Iran. The ASMLA – Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz - fights against oppression of the Arab minority in the Iranian region of Khuzestan and for independence.

ASMLA leader Habib Jabor and two other leaders were found guilty of spying and financing terrorism in Iran after months-long closed-door trial in Denmark. However, many details have not been disclosed. A journalistic investigation made it clear that the group also spied against people in the Netherlands, including the well-known activist Abdullah Mansouri.

Last autumn, the Rotterdam court convicted another ASMLA member, presenter and manager of Ahwazna TV Eisa S. from Delft. Despite denials, he was jailed for four years for coordinating and financing attacks in Iran in conjunction with the Danish ASMLA leaders.

The Arab-Iranian separatist movement ASMLA has secretly collected information for the Saudi intelligence service about a large number of people in Europe, including the Netherlands. Among them is the Dutch-Iranian activist Faleh Abdullah al-Mansouri.

Ahwazna TV

Satellite channel Ahwazna TV of ASMLA has been based in Rijswijk since 2017 and calls for a fight against the Iranian 'occupier'. The channel even brought news of attacks that ASMLA was probably behind. An example is the liquidation of two alleged members of the Revolutionary Guards on a motorcycle on November 12, 2018 in Abadan. This action was filmed and published through Ahwazna TV's social media channels.

In app conversations between Eisa S., ASMLA leader Habib Jabor and a contact person 'Issi' in Iran, the attackers are called 'our boys', it is about the amounts that the perpetrators have received and it is stated that the attack should be breaking news.

Of a total budget for ASMLA of more than seven million euros for the period 2017-19, about 1.2 million was earmarked for Ahwazna TV in the Netherlands, according to police documents that were viewed by journalists from DR in collaboration with Argos and NRK. The TV channel is one of the targets for which funding has been sought through liaison officers from the Saudi intelligence agency GIP. While it cannot be ruled out that part of the final budget came from other donors, the Danish court has assumed that ASMLA did in fact receive "significant sums" from the Saudis in response to these applications.

Response

Ahwazna TV says in a response to Argos that Iranian media are behind the allegations and that they have 'unfortunately' been taken over by the Danish prosecutor. The station says it has never promoted terrorism. The TV station reportedly only reported on the situation in Iran: "There are daily crimes against the Arabs, the original population of Ahwaz, by the Iranian regime."

Ahwazna TV said the channel "must be silenced as it has become a source of disruption to Iran." According to Ahwazna TV, the amount of 1.2 million euros cannot be correct, because the channel uses volunteers and second-hand equipment. The broadcasts from the Netherlands would have been suspended in the meantime. The Saudi embassy in the Netherlands has not responded to a request for a hearing.

In Denmark, Ahwazna TV has been banned for two years because the channel 'has grossly broken the law by showing programs that promote both direct and indirect terrorism'.

Demonstrations

ASMLA also organized demonstrations in Europe against Iran and for the Ahwaz cause. For this, the ASMLA leadership also requested funding from Saudi Arabia and a budget was drawn up. Money was needed for plane tickets, hotels, buses and allowances for journalists. Refugees from asylum seekers centers also had to be paid to participate. That would have cost 60 euros per person. Arab news channels were promised to report. 

Police documents mention an amount of 400 thousand euros, including 190 thousand euros for a demonstration in The Hague and 80 thousand for a demonstration in Copenhagen. The communication dates from late 2014 and early 2015. In 2015, there were manifestations of ASMLA in Copenhagen and Brussels, among others, and in 2016 at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where Eisa S. and Habib Jabor were present.

Armed Branch

Despite public statements approving and even claiming responsibility for attacks in Iran, it has long remained unclear whether ASMLA leaders in Europe themselves had a hand in violence. Significant is a tapped board meeting of ASMLA in February 2020. There it was discussed that it would be better to refrain from aggressive and violent statements from now on, because the Danish authorities and international partners would no longer tolerate this. When asked 'does this mean that we should put aside the armed struggle', Habib Jabor answers that this is not the case, but that 'there must be a new definition'.

Chat conversations between the ASMLA leaders, Eisa S. and individuals in Iran explicitly discussed targets, payments, recruiting perpetrators, purchasing weapons and filming attacks. 'If you can hit them and shoot the film well and there will be deaths, then help will come for you that is unimaginable to you,' said Eisa, for example, to his contact person 'Issi' in Iran. In 2018, in particular, there was a series of bank arson attacks and attacks associated with ASMLA in the Iranian region of Khuzestan. The Danish criminal case showed that converted at least 2 million euros was obtained from Saudi Arabia for the armed branch of ASMLA. 

Hunt for ASMLA Leaders

Tehran has accused ASMLA and Saudi Arabia of terrorism for years and repeatedly asked the Dutch and Danish governments to intervene. Meanwhile, Iran was hunting for ASMLA leaders. In the Netherlands, co-founder Ahmad Mola Nissi was shot dead in The Hague in 2017, although he had already broken up with Habib Jabor's group in 2015, precisely because of Saudi Arabia's influence on the group. An assassination attempt on Jabor in Denmark was narrowly thwarted in September 2018. Habib Chaab from Sweden was lured to Turkey in 2020 and kidnapped to Iran. An investigation by Argos in 2019 showed that Iranian spies had great interest in Ahwazna TV in Rijswijk. Eisa S.'s life may have even been in danger.

 

Frustrating Afghan evacuation process

An Army investigative report obtained by The Washington Post documented frustration among military personnel with the White House and State Department over the US evacuation from Afghanistan. 

The report, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, was ordered after the suicide bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport that killed 13 American military personnel on August 26, 2021. It detailed the decisions made by US military personnel assigned to guard the airport. 

“The military would’ve been much better prepared to conduct a more orderly operation, if policymakers had paid attention to the indicators of what was happening on the ground,” Navy Rear Adm. Peter Vasely, who leads US Forces Afghanistan Forward, told investigators, according to the newspaper.

According to the report, military officials said planning for the operation began months earlier, and evolved from using Bagram Air Base and the Hamid Karzai airport to just using the airport.

Military officials said they wanted two weeks to evacuate the US Embassy in Afghanistan, but on August 12, 2021 Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan demanded the process move more quickly.

US Central Command chief Gen. Kenneth McKenzie told the Post in an interview that he wasn’t surprised commanders felt the evacuation should have been handled differently. However, he said “we came together and executed a plan.”

“There are profound frustrations; commanders, particularly subordinate commanders, they see very clearly the advantages of other courses of action. However, we had a decision, and we had an allocation of forces. You proceed based on that,” he told the newspaper.

Asked about the report, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told the Post that the evacuation effort was a “historic achievement.”

“We are committed to, and are intensely engaged in, an ongoing review of our efforts during the evacuation, the assessments and strategy during the conflict, and the planning in the months before the end of the war,” Kirby told the newspaper. “We will take those lessons learned, and apply them, as we always do, clearly and professionally.”

Separately, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Todd Breasseale said, “Throughout this evacuation and in the months following – as we welcomed Afghans to begin their new lives in the United States, the US government has led a coordinated and cohesive interagency effort. The Department of Defense is proud to have worked shoulder to shoulder with our partners at the Departments of State and Homeland Security, the intelligence community, and others in support of this historic mission.”

The Army referred questions on the article to Central Command, which had no comment when reached by The Hill. The Hill has also reached out to the White House for comment.

The US officially withdrew from Afghanistan on August 31, 2021 ending America’s longest conflict. In the process, more than 124,000 people were evacuated from the country — the vast majority of which were Afghan refugees.

A State Department spokesperson didn’t directly address the concerns from military leaders raised in the Post report when reached by The Hill, but said “we continue to improve resettlement processes, reducing the time Afghans spend at overseas facilities and ensuring more effective resettlement and integration.”

The spokesperson said the Trump administration had no plan to move Afghans out of the country when it committed to leaving by May 2021 and “purposefully” gutted the nation’s refugee resettlement program. The spokesperson further said the Biden administration took steps to improve the special immigrant visa process.

“As we prepared to leave Afghanistan, we pre-positioned military assets in the region that enabled us to execute one of the largest airlifts in history, facilitating the evacuation and relocation of 124,000 individuals,” the spokesperson added.

The report also revealed several instances of violence American personnel faced during the effort, according to the Post.

For instance, there was an exchange of gunfire after two Taliban fighters allegedly menaced a group of Marines and Afghan civilians, which left those fighters dead.

In another instance, seven people — one of which was part of an elite Afghan strike unit — fired on American troops. In return US troops killed the strike unit member, and wounded six others. 

Who is responsible for ongoing turmoil in Lebanon?

“Saudi Arabia and the United States are exerting economic pressure on Lebanon to isolate Hezbollah” says Jamal Wakim, a professor at the Lebanese University (LU). “Saudi Arabia believes that exerting pressure on the Lebanese economy would help them achieve their political objective by isolating Hezbollah,” Wakim tells the Tehran Times.

“As the US could not get rid of Hezbollah militarily, it thought of doing so by exerting economic pressure on the Lebanese economy in order to incite the whole population against Hezbollah,” he adds.

Lebanon is going through a financial crisis that the World Bank says could rank among the world’s three worst since the mid-1800s in terms of its effect on living standards.

According to Jamal Wakim, after the Civil War in Lebanon, country’s economy has become solely dependent on the tertiary sector and the financial sector and on marginalizing the productive sectors, i.e. agriculture and industry. 
As the US could not get rid of Hezbollah militarily, it thought of doing so by exerting economic pressure on the Lebanese economy in order to incite the whole population against Hezbollah. By controlling the Lebanese financial system, the US was able to dry it off, leading the whole economy to collapse.

Rafiq al-Hariri governments between 1992 and 2004 were the ones that led to the restructuring of the economy to fit the interests of the financial and tertiary sectors. After his assassination, the class which benefited from the al-Hariri policies continued the policies that led to the current crisis. 

Saudi Arabia wants to exert pressure on Hezbollah so they thought that exerting pressure on the Lebanese economy would help them achieve their political objective by isolating Hezbollah. 

The incumbent government is not able to tackle the economic problem because the Prime Minister and the government members represent the interests of the political-financial class that rules the country and whose interests lay in continuing the previous policies that protect the interests of the financial capitalist class. 

To find a sustainable solution to Lebanese malice it is necessary to understand the main areas of economic cooperation between Iran and Lebanon. It is too bad that there are no areas of cooperation between Lebanon and Iran, because Lebanon is under full Western control. 

While Lebanon is still struggling to get over the ramifications of a deadly 2020 blast at Beirut Port, some people on Capitol Hill are busy drawing up plans to further exacerbate the situation in the country.

Lebanon is in bad shape economically and its people are grappling with day-to-day hardships to make ends meet regardless of their religion or political persuasions. However, this does not seem enough for some the US congressmen to refrain from fanning the flames of political divisions in Lebanon at a delicate moment.

Ever since the 2020 destructive explosion devastated the port of Beirut and the surrounding area, the economic situation in Lebanon has been steadily deteriorating. The country’s currency has significantly lost its value against the US dollar. Many gas stations and power stations ran out of fuel needed to power Lebanese cars and light homes.

The explosion led to a political vacuum in Lebanon after Hassan Diab, who assumed premiership in late 2019 by virtue of consensus among Lebanon’s main religiopolitical factions including Hezbollah, resigned. Diab remained in power as caretaker Prime Minister for about 13 months, highlighting the challenges of forming government in a country where political factions are divided along sectarian lines and pulling in different directions. Diab sought to strike a balance and render services to the Lebanese people without prioritizing foreign pressure to undermine certain groups that are part and parcel of Lebanon’s political system. 

Saad Hariri sought to form a government but he was given the cold shoulder due to a perception in some regional and transregional countries that he was unable to undertake reforms long demanded by these countries. And the main target of reforms is Hezbollah. In other words, Hariri was under pressure to form a government bent on weakening Hezbollah. Hariri simply withdrew and then went into self-exile.  

The external pressures continued unabated even after Lebanese leaders across the political spectrum formed a new government led by veteran politician Najib Mikati. 

Mikati has been trying to improve the economic situation in the country. But he is facing daunting challenges in this regard. Because Lebanon is resource-poor and relies, to large extent, on foreign aid to shore up its economy. To overcome economic woes, Lebanon needs foreign loans. The Mikati administration has formally begun negotiations with the International Monetary Fund to reportedly extend US$4 billion loan. 

The loan is part of a broader reform plan that aims to improve the economic situation. But it has been conditioned on the Lebanese government undertaking painful economic reforms and more importantly making a pledge to undermine Hezbollah.

The Tehran Times has learned that Senator James Lankford is spearheading efforts at the US Congress to draw up some legislation on the situation in Lebanon that would direct the US administration to refrain from supporting IMF assistance until needed reforms are made. 

The proposed bill also directs the US to support incremental IMF assistance to Lebanon once reforms are made. 

In addition, the bill calls on the US to impose sanctions on Lebanese leaders thought to be obstructing reforms. 

It goes without saying that reforms here mean measures against Hezbollah, which has long been in the crosshairs of the US. On the surface, the bill seeks to ensure stability in Lebanon, but deep down, it may well end up destabilizing Lebanon by pitting the Lebanese against each other.

The draft prepared by Senator Lankford lays out an array of measures to be taken by the US administration with regards to Lebanon.