US senators take first step in repealing Iraq War authorization

US senators take first step in repealing Iraq War authorization
US Senators Todd Young and Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine (right) are joined by representatives of the American Legion as they speak to reporters in Washington on March 16, 2023, about ending the authorization for use of military force enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. (AP)
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Updated 16 March 2023

US senators take first step in repealing Iraq War authorization

US senators take first step in repealing Iraq War authorization
  • The bipartisan move comes as the US marks the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War that toppled Saddam Hussein
  • Nearly 5,000 US troops were killed in the war. Iraqi deaths are estimated in the hundreds of thousands

WASHINGTON: The Senate took a first step Thursday toward repealing two measures that give open-ended approval for military action in Iraq, pushing to end that authority as the United States marks the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War.
Senators voted 68-27 to move forward on legislation that would repeal the 2002 measure that greenlighted that March 2003 invasion of Iraq and a 1991 measure that sanctioned the US-led Gulf War to expel Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s forces from Kuwait. Nineteen Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the measure.
The bipartisan effort comes at a time when lawmakers of both parties are seeking to reclaim congressional powers over US military strikes and deployments, arguing that the war authorizations are no longer necessary and subject to misuse if they are left on the books. President Joe Biden has backed the push, and the White House issued a statement Thursday in support.
“Repeal of these authorizations would have no impact on current US military operations and would support this administration’s commitment to a strong and comprehensive relationship with our Iraqi partners,” the White House said.
It’s unclear whether leaders in the Republican-controlled House would bring the bill up for a vote. Forty-nine House Republicans supported the legislation when then-majority Democrats held a vote two years ago, but current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy opposed it.
Senate Republicans are also split on the legislation. While the 19 GOP senators voted for it, opponents argue that the repeal could project weakness to US enemies. They have pointed out that President Donald Trump’s administration cited the 2002 Iraq war resolution as part of its legal justification for a 2020 US drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani.
The October 2002 votes to give President George W. Bush broad authority for the invasion — coming just a month before the midterm elections that year — became a defining moment for many members of Congress as the country debated whether a military strike was warranted. The US was already at war then in Afghanistan, the country that hosted the Al-Qaeda plotters responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, something Iraq played no part in.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat who was in the Senate at the time and voted against the resolution, said on the floor before Thursday’s vote that “I look back on it, as I’m sure others do, as one of the most important votes that I ever cast.”
“The repeal of this authorization of use the use of military force does not mean the United States has become a pacifist nation,” Durbin said. “It means that the United States is going to be a constitutional nation and the premise of our Founding Fathers will be respected.”
The Bush administration had drummed up support among members of Congress and Americans for invading Iraq by promoting false intelligence claims about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction.
After the initial March 2003 invasion of Iraq, American ground forces quickly discovered that the allegations of nuclear or chemical weapons programs were baseless. But the US overthrow of Iraq’s security forces precipitated a brutal sectarian fight and violent campaigns by Islamic extremist groups in Iraq. Car bombings, assassinations, torture and kidnapping became a part of daily life in Iraq for years.
Nearly 5,000 US troops were killed in the war. Iraqi deaths are estimated in the hundreds of thousands.
In the statement of policy, the White House said Biden would work with Congress to replace the authorizations with “a narrow and specific framework more appropriate to protecting Americans from modern terrorist threats.” It said the president want to ensure that Congress “has a clear and thorough understanding of the effect of any such action and of the threats facing US forces, personnel, and interests around the world.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in the hours before the vote that he was glad that the repeal is a bipartisan effort after the Iraq conflict was the cause of “so much bitterness” in the past.
“Americans are tired of endless wars in the Middle East,” Schumer said.

 

 

 

 

 


Washington, March 16, 2023  Agence France Presse: Almost exactly 20 years after US forces invaded Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from power, the US Senate moved Thursday to revoke the law that authorized then-president George W. Bush to launch the war.
In a procedural vote that came over a decade after the war’s official end, senators from both parties strongly supported canceling the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), which empowered Bush to send US forces to Iraq.
The same bill also revokes the 1991 AUMF that empowered Bush’s father president George HW Bush to attack Iraq after Saddam’s forces invaded Kuwait.
“The Iraq War has itself long been over. This AUMF has outlived its purpose and we can no longer justify keeping it in effect,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“Every year we leave these AUMFs on the books is another year that a future administration can abuse them,” he said.
The 2002 AUMF has been mostly moribund.
But, because it allows the president to order any actions seen as threatening to Iraqi democracy, it has been used to justify several military actions in the past decade, like allowing US troops in Iraq to retaliate against Iran-allied militias that have fired rockets at bases housing US troops.
Most notably, it was cited in the January 2020 US assassination in Baghdad of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, ordered by Donald Trump.
Because of that, there have been fears that a president could use the AUMF to go to war with Iran, citing a threat from Tehran to Iraq, said Scott Anderson, an expert in national security law at Brookings Institution
“The biggest risk it presents is that people will use it more broadly,” beyond Congress’s original intent, Anderson said.
Since the beginning of his administration in 2021, President Joe Biden has urged Congress to revoke the 1991 and 2002 AUMFs.
But the legislation — which could come next week to a final vote in the Senate and then be sent to the House of Representatives — does not take action against the 2001 authorization of war in Afghanistan.
That authorization, with broad powers for the president to order military force against Al-Qaeda and its offshoots, has been used to carry on sustained actions in numerous countries including Syria, Yemen, Somalia and other parts of Africa.
In a statement Thursday on the revocations of the 1991 and 2002 AUMFs, the Biden administration said the president is ready to work with Congress to replace other “outdated authorizations for the use of military force” with “a narrow and specific framework more appropriate to protecting Americans from modern terrorist threats.”
 


Christian blocs indicate support for Jihad Azour as a Lebanon presidential candidate 

Among the likely names from the Christian bloc suggested for the role is former Finance Minister Jihad Azour.
Among the likely names from the Christian bloc suggested for the role is former Finance Minister Jihad Azour.
Updated 29 May 2023

Christian blocs indicate support for Jihad Azour as a Lebanon presidential candidate 

Among the likely names from the Christian bloc suggested for the role is former Finance Minister Jihad Azour.
  • Patriarch Al-Rahi praises parliamentary consensus before his trip to Vatican and France
  • Hezbollah sees nomination of Azour as a ploy to overthrow their candidate Frangieh

BEIRUT: News emerged on Sunday that the largest Christian blocs in the Lebanese parliament — the Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Forces, and the Lebanese Phalanges Party — were moving toward reaching a consensus on a presidential candidate.

Among the likely names suggested for the role is former Finance Minister Jihad Azour, 57.

Azour currently serves as the director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund.

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi made a possible reference to the consensus in his Sunday sermon on the eve of his trip to the Vatican and then to Paris.

Al-Rahi expressed hope that a president of the republic would be elected as soon as possible so that the constitutional institutions could be organized.

He said: “We thank God for what we hear about some consensus among parliamentary blocs regarding the future president, so that he does not pose a challenge to anyone, and at the same time possesses a personality that responds to Lebanon’s needs today and inspires internal and external confidence.”

Al-Rahi hoped the “chaos occurring at several levels” would also stop soon.

Hezbollah and the political coalition allied with it support the nomination of Sleiman Frangieh, leader of the Marada Party who is close to the Syrian regime, but most Christian parliamentary blocs in Lebanon reject him.

Mohammed Raad, Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc chief, reacted to the possibility of the Christian parliamentary blocs reaching a consensus on Azour as their candidate.

Raad said in a statement on Sunday that “the candidate whose name is circulating is a maneuvering candidate whose mission is to confront the candidate we support and to undermine him.”

He called on the other group “to stop wasting time and prolonging the deadline.”

The presidential vacuum in Lebanon will enter its eighth month on June 1 after 11 parliamentary election sessions failed to enable a presidential candidate to reach the second round of the presidential elections due to a lack of quorum.

Opposition forces to Hezbollah previously insisted on nominating MP Michel Mouawad, but Hezbollah considered him an “inflammatory candidate.”

A political analyst stated that Azour did not want to be a “confrontational or challenging candidate.”

The Lebanese media reported that Azour said he “wants to be the president who carries a rescue project for the country with the approval of everyone.”

The political analyst was cautious about “considering Azour as a final candidate for the Christian blocs, in anticipation of any surprises or changes in positions at the last moment.”

He, however, praised what he saw as the positive direction achieved so far.

MP Elias Hankash, who is involved in the negotiations, said that the chances of electing a president soon had improved.

He also said that name of former Minister Azour was among the names agreed upon by the Free Patriotic Movement.

Hankash said: “There is an insistence that we cannot devote the presidency to Hezbollah.”

He emphasized that “we want an acceptable candidate who has the specifications that we do not compromise on, and we see that the country cannot tolerate settlements, and we are not talking today about a settlement but about accepting a candidate.

“There are principles that many have died for, and a settlement occurs when we give up on principles, but when we agree on a name, this is not called a settlement.”

MP George Okais, a former judge and member of the Lebanese Forces party, spoke of progress in the negotiations between the opposition and the Free Patriotic Movement, without yet reaching an agreement on a unified name.

Okais said he expected that next week could be a turning point in this direction.

He pointed out that the proposal of Azour came as a result of an agreement with the Free Patriotic Movement on a non-provocative name for the Hezbollah team.

At the same time, he said the name could unify the ranks of the opposition, “so we have gone halfway, waiting for the other team.”

Ali Hassan Khalil, a member of the Amal Movement bloc, believes that “the logic of political forces coming together only to obstruct the candidate we supported cannot lead our country to safety.”

He added: “When we supported a candidate for the presidency (Frangieh), we were guided by deep convictions that we wanted a president who could manage national consensus.”

Hashem Safieddine, head of Hezbollah’s executive council, said: “There is no way to reach a president of the republic except through consensus.”

Safieddine added: “This is Lebanon, and this is its nature, and this is how the solutions are in it.” 

Maronite Patriarchate spokesperson Walid Ghayad said on Sunday that Al-Rahi was heading to the Vatican on Monday to meet with Prime Minister Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

He will then travel to Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday.

According to Ghayad, Al-Rahi will ask for France’s assistance in the Syrian refugee issue in Lebanon and the necessity of their return to their country, in addition to addressing financial matters, especially in light of the economic crisis.

Azour coordinated the implementation of important reform initiatives when he served as the finance minister from 2005 to 2008.

Before and after this tenure, he held several positions in the private sector.

They include working at McKinsey & Company and Booz & Company, where he was a senior partner and executive adviser.

Before joining the IMF in March 2017, he was a managing partner at the consulting and investment firm Infinity Partners for investment and business consulting.


Syria says Israeli missiles target sites near Damascus

Syria says Israeli missiles target sites near Damascus
Updated 29 May 2023

Syria says Israeli missiles target sites near Damascus

Syria says Israeli missiles target sites near Damascus
  • The last Israeli air raids on Syria on May 2 left seven dead

DAMASCUS: Syrian army air defenses on Sunday confronted an Israeli missile strike on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, and there were no casualties, state media said.
Citing a Syrian military source, state media said missile strikes coming from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights had targeted several sites it did not identify.
“Our air defenses confronted the aggressors’ missiles and downed some of them with only material losses,” the Syrian military source said.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
Israel has for years carried out attacks on what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran’s influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar Assad in a civil war that started in 2011.
The strikes are part of an escalation of what has been a low-intensity conflict with a goal of slowing Iran’s growing entrenchment in Syria, Israeli military experts say.
Fighters allied to Iran, including Hezbollah, now hold sway in vast areas in eastern, southern, and northwestern Syria and in several suburbs around the capital.

 


Israel launches ‘eye in the sky’ balloon in Galilee

Israel launches ‘eye in the sky’ balloon in Galilee
Updated 28 May 2023

Israel launches ‘eye in the sky’ balloon in Galilee

Israel launches ‘eye in the sky’ balloon in Galilee
  • High-tech device to offer early warning of drones, missiles as conflict fears grow

RAMALLAH: A surveillance balloon launched by the Israeli military in the northern Galilee region will provide early warning of long-range missiles and drones targeting the country, sources said on Sunday.

Israeli authorities said that the balloon weighs several tons, and is equipped with specialist cameras, computers and radar.

The balloon is located on the triangle of the Jordanian-Syrian border, and can monitor territory hundreds of kilometers away. 

Military sources said that the new balloon is similar to the device that protects the Dimona reactor in the Negev desert.

It will be able to detect long-range missiles and drones launched from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, as well as monitor aircraft at Damascus airport and deep into Lebanon, the sources said. 

According to the sources, transporting and launching the balloon was one of the most complex logistical operations the Israeli Air Force has carried out in the past decade.

A US team helped to assemble and launch the balloon, the sources said.

The Israeli army expects any future war to be a “multi-front” confrontation, with coordinated attacks involving thousands of aircraft, including drones, and cruise missiles. 

The system, developed jointly by the Israel Missile Defense Organization and the US Missile Defense Agency, comprises a balloon capable of flying at high altitudes with radar and detection systems to scan a large area in any direction.

Rami Shmuel, CEO of RT, an Israeli company that makes surveillance balloons, told Arab News that the systems are much better than drones or other security surveillance methods from both economic and operational perspectives. 

“The balloon costs $1 per hour, while the done costs $600, and it can stay in the sky between 14-20 days continuously, while the drone can stay for a few hours only,” Shmuel said.

He said that balloons, unlike drones, can be fitted with cumbersome high-resolution cameras.

“It’s the best security surveillance and warning method,” Shmuel added.

Majdi Halabi, an expert on Israeli affairs, told Arab News that Iran has provided Hezbollah in Lebanon with hundreds of Shahid and Khaybar drones, which pose a significant threat to Israel.

The surveillance balloon will allow drones to be intercepted and brought down before they cross Israel’s borders, he said.

“If 5,000 drones and missiles were launched by Hezbollah toward Israel, it would cause terrible destruction,” Halabi added.

According to the sources, Israel faces significant defense challenges, particularly in the north.

Yoni Ben Menachem, an Israeli analyst, told Arab News the country has accurate intelligence regarding Hezbollah’s intention to attack Israeli targets.

He referred to a statement by Naim Qassem, deputy head of the party, who said the next war would be fought inside (Israel) and not in southern Lebanon.

“Hezbollah is trying to change the game rules that have prevailed since the July 2006 war by moving the battle into Israel instead of southern Lebanon.”

Meanwhile, Israel will begin large-scale military maneuvers on Monday, including the air force, army and navy, in areas across the country. Combat aircraft will take part in the exercises, which will last about two weeks.

Civil aviation routes in Israel will be changed and airspace closed to small aircraft during the exercises.


Stability in Sudan is vital to the region, El-Sisi says

Stability in Sudan is vital to the region, El-Sisi says
Updated 28 May 2023

Stability in Sudan is vital to the region, El-Sisi says

Stability in Sudan is vital to the region, El-Sisi says
  • Egyptian leader lays out roadmap to end violence, restore security

CAIRO: Restoring stability and security in Sudan is important not only for the Sudanese people but also for the entire region, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said.

El-Sisi’s remarks came in his speech at a meeting of the African Peace and Security Council on Sudan attended by heads of state and government via video conference.

The Egyptian president said: “In addition to its political significance, today’s meeting bears symbolic value, affirming the continued partnership between African parties, all international partners, and relief agencies to work together toward a stable and secure Sudan.”

El-Sisi said: “Our meeting today comes to adopt the de-escalation plan, which was formulated in coordination with neighboring countries which represents an important step toward achieving stability and internal consensus, and ending the current bloody conflict.”

He also highlighted other initiatives to deal with the Sudanese crisis, as well as preserving the country’s territorial integrity and institutions.

“Efforts made within the framework of the African Union are complementary to other tracks, including the Arab League, whose recent summit endorsed the formation of an Arab ministerial contact group to deal with the crisis,” El-Sisi said.

“This is in addition to the IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) efforts and the agreements signed during the Jeddah negotiations, stipulating the commitment to a ceasefire, opening the way for the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid, and the withdrawal of troops from public hospitals and facilities.

“These tracks must be based on common, coordinated, and mutually supportive standards and establish a road map for the political process to address the root causes of the issues that led to the current crisis and aim at broad and inclusive participation of all Sudanese people,” he added.

Egypt has highlighted the importance of close coordination with neighboring countries to resolve the crisis, and restore security and stability in Sudan.

El-Sisi said that Egypt has assumed its responsibility as a major neighboring country to Sudan by intensifying communication with all the actors and international partners to put an end to the violence.

The Egyptian president listed four factors on which his country based its efforts, the most important of which are:

First: the need for a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire that is not limited to humanitarian purposes.

Second: the necessity of preserving state institutions in Sudan, which are the backbone for protecting the country from the risk of collapse.

Third: The conflict in Sudan concerns the Sudanese. “Our role as regional parties is to help them stop it and achieve consensus on the resolution of the causes that led to it in the first place. In this regard, Egypt stresses its respect for the Sudanese people’s will, non-interference in their internal affairs, and the importance of not allowing foreign intervention in their current crisis,” El-Sisi said.

Fourth: The humanitarian repercussions of the Sudanese crisis extend beyond the state’s borders and affect neighboring countries.

El-Sisi said that “Egypt has committed itself to its responsibilities in this regard by receiving 150,000 Sudanese citizens to date, in addition to hosting 5 million Sudanese, who are treated as citizens.”

He called on relief agencies and donor countries to provide support to allow neighboring states to continue this role.


18th Arab Media Forum kicks off in Kuwait

18th Arab Media Forum kicks off in Kuwait
Updated 28 May 2023

18th Arab Media Forum kicks off in Kuwait

18th Arab Media Forum kicks off in Kuwait
  • Editors-in-chief from Arab newspapers discuss addressing upcoming digital media transformation

KUWAIT: The 18th Arab Media Forum kicked off on Sunday in Kuwait under the patronage of Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Sabah.

The event focused on a range of issues pertaining to the future of media in the region, Kuwait News Agency reported.

During one of the sessions, Jameel Al-Thiyabi, editor-in-chief of Saudi newspaper Okaz stated that the rise of Artificial Intelligence would have an impact on media outlets all over the world, emphasizing the importance of keeping up with AI developments in media rather than falling behind.

The Arab League’s assistant secretary-general for media Ahmed Khattabi stressed the importance of addressing challenges within digital media, adding that improving media capacities should not overshadow topics of significant importance to the Arab world, particularly the Palestinian cause.

Meanwhile, Waleed Al-Jasim, editor-in-chief of Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai, said Arab media faced challenges surrounding media freedoms, adding that social media platforms allowed for more freedom of expression compared with mainstream media.

Hatim Al Taie, editor-in-chief of Omani newspaper Al-Roya, warned younger people working in the industry needed to prepare for the oncoming digital media transformation. He called on the Arab League to impose fees on international media companies, with the money used in funding media entities in the Arab region.