As Pandemic Restrictions Fade, Saudi Businesses Look Forward to Better Days Ahead
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister: Government Has Begun Radical Process to Reform Economy
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US Strategies with «Frontline States» To Counter Russian Influence www.majal a.com
Editorial This week, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III paid visits to Georgia, Ukraine, and Romania to reassure the countries that are on the frontlines of Russian aggression. Romania is a member of the U.S.-led Western military alliance, while Georgia and Ukraine seek to join NATO, something the Kremlin has described as a red line. During his visits Austin pledged to continue to work with partners in the Black Sea region. “The U.S. will continue to provide assistance to strengthen the maritime capabilities of Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Georgia,» said Austin. Maia Otarashvili makes an in-depth analysis about the US secretary of defense’s visit to the three countries. With the lifting of most of the restrictions imposed by the Saudi Authorities in the middle of October, businesses are optimistic that the move will help them work more freely with full capacity, and that overcautious people will give up their fears and live their pre-COVID19- life. Motasem Al Felou explains how easing the pandemic restrictions will boost the Saudi economy. In the culture section, Jiwan Soz talks about how Syria has seen large-scale looting and destruction of Syrian monuments in the years following the outbreak of the raging war. Artifacts have been smuggled abroad, appearing in more than one country in the world, including European, Asian and Arab capitals. In his article, Soz delves into how the country has lost a lot of its heritage during the war that continues until now due to the destruction that reached ancient buildings and historical markets. On October 14, deadly clashes took place in the Lebanese capital of Beirut between opposite armed parties. Latifa El Hassanyeh talks about how these clashes have transformed Beirut neighborhoods into a deadly war zone, raising fears and imprisoning kids in their schools. These clashes triggered the fear of another civil war, though it lasted only for some hours. In the sports section, Sara Gamal interviews Saudi football player Farah Jefry, 18 years old, who started playing football a decade ago. Read these articles and more on our website eng.majalla.com. As always, we welcome and value our readers’ feedback and we invite you to take the opportunity to leave your comments on our website.
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A Weekly Political News Magazine
Two Opposing American
34 Opinions: Death for Dzhokhar?
Issue 1875- October- 22/10/2021
26 The End of American Militarism?
20 History Repeats itself in The Land of Battles
42 The Syrian War on An Ancient Heritage
48 The Korean Invasion
Meet the “De Bruyne” Saudi 52 Female Player 5
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“Pandemic Posture” Hurting
56 Your Back? You Can Fix It !
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Lighting ceremony of the Olympic flame Winter Olympics - Lighting ceremony of the Olympic flame for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics - Ancient Olympia, Olympia, Greece - October 18, 2021 Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou, playing the role of High Priestess, lights the flame during the Olympic flame lighting ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics )Reuters Photos(
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Motocross World Championship Grand Prix of Spain Riders compete in men’s MXGP category of Spain Motocross GP race in the town of Arroyomolinos, central Spain, 17 October 2021 )EPA Photos(
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US Strategies with «Frontline States» To Counter Russian Influence US Secretary of Defense’s Visit to Georgia, Ukraine, Romania Under Spotlight
By: Maia Otarashvili This week, the U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin traveled to Europe to attend the NATO Defense Ministerial in Brussels. Ahead of the
event Secretary Austin visited Georgia, Ukraine, and Romania to “reassure frontline states”. His visit, and the language the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) used in conveying the purpose of the trip, reasserted the notion that Georgia and Ukraine are still seen by the United States
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as America’s allies at the frontlines of Russian aggression. Ahead of the trip the DoD website quoted one of the senior U.S. officials saying “We are reassuring and reinforcing the sovereignty of countries that are on the frontlines of Russian aggression.” This important visit came at a crucial time, as many in Georgia and Ukraine have become disenchanted with the Biden Administration’s lack of clear Eurasia policy up to this point. Over the recent years Georgia has gradually fallen from grace with its western allies and its democratic path has started to falter. The country has been embroiled in political chaos, the government unable to mitigate a flurry of scandals and crises. The E.U. has remained actively engaged with Georgia and even withheld aid for non-compliance with judiciary reform promises. The U.S., on the other hand, has been relatively inactive so far, unwilling to pressure the Georgian government to remedy its illiberal streak. Meanwhile, Russia has gained the upper hand in the region. Russian military is present in all three South Caucasus states, and Ukraine’s fate remains in Moscow’s hands as the war in Donbas goes on and Crimea remains off-limits to Kyiv. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Georgian Defense Minister Dzhuansher Burchuladze. Photo Credit: Reuters
NATO has shown that it is invested in the Black Sea and looks to become more invested in the region’s security to counter Russian aggression there. However, NATO’s challenges in the Black Sea are complex and without significant American initiative and involvement NATO has been ineffective in balancing out Russia’s dominance so far. Secretary Austin’s visit marked a new era in U.S. military engagement with the non-member NATO-friendly states of Ukraine and Georgia as they’ve been once again branded as frontline allies in an ongoing U.S. effort to counter Russian aggression. Moreover, the trip singled out another Black Sea state that is an actual NATO member - Romania as a “rolemodel ally” to the United States. According to the DoD statement “Romania … is doing just about everything that we could possibly ask of a NATO ally, so we have the opportunity to recognize that and appreciate that. Romania spends more than 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense
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Strengthening cooperation on cyber security to deter malicious cyber activities on national security systems, to attribute such activities, and to defend against adversaries effectively. with 20 percent of that going to modernization. Both are NATO goals.” The DoD statement also underlined the fact that these are not just individual country allies to the United States, but that Washington sees them as representatives of the strategically critical Black Sea region. “The Department of Defense steadfastly supports its European Allies and partners in the face of Russia’s destabilizing actions in the critical Black Sea region, and the Secretary looks forward to meeting with his counterparts and other senior officials to reinforce the United States’ commitment to a safe, stable, and prosperous Europe.” In Georgia, Secretary Austin met with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Minister of Defense Juansher Burchuladze and reaffirm U.S. support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. In his meetings and statements he underscored the importance of the U.S.-Georgia strategic partnership and discussed bilateral security cooperation and encourage greater regional cooperation in the Black Sea. They also signed a memorandum of understanding on deepening the bilateral security cooperation through the new Georgia Defense and Deterrence Enhancement Initiative. The Initiative consists of two components. One component focuses on organizational change to build Georgia’s institutional capacity in the defense sector. The second focuses on strengthening GDF capabilities to train and employ brigades
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in combined arms operations necessary for territorial defense. In Ukraine, the Secretary will meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Minister of Defense Andrii Taran and reaffirmed U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and discussed Ukraine’s progress with industry reforms needed and regional cooperation among Black Sea allies and partners. Secretary Austin also called on Russia to end the war in Donbas and stop its cyberattacks on the U.S. The conflict has taken over 13,000 lives
“Ensuring that bilateral security cooperation and U.S. assistance effectively helps Ukraine to counter Russian aggression, including through a robust training and exercise program.”
since April 2014. “We again call on Russia to end its occupation of Crimea, to stop perpetuating the war in Eastern Ukraine, to end its destabilizing activities in the Black Sea and along Ukraine’s borders. … And to halt its persistent cyberattacks and other malign activities against the United States and our allies and partners.” Secretary Austin and Minister Taran also discussed the implementation process for the U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Defense Framework which the two sides signed during President Zelensky’s visit to Washington in September. The Framework is designed to be implemented through 2026 and includes the following: “Ensuring that bilateral security cooperation and U.S. assistance effectively helps Ukraine to counter Russian aggression, including through a robust training and exercise program. Implementing defense sector reforms, in line with NATO principles and standards, building on the significant progress made since 2014. Facilitating the execution of a defense industry strategy and reforms to meet the needs of Ukraine’s forces, including greater transparency in Ukrainian defense procurement, the implementation of Ukrainian corporate governance reforms, and
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U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Ukrainian Defence Minister Andriy Taran attend a welcoming ceremony prior to their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine October 19, 2021. REUTERS/ Gleb Garanich
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, walks with Romanian Defense Minister Nicolae Ciuca during a welcoming ceremony in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021. Austin is visiting Romania before attending the NATO Defense Ministerial in Brussels. (AP Photo/An)dreea Alexandru
building long-term strategic partnership in the field of science and technology that impact the future security environment. Deepening Black Sea cooperation to ensure freedom of navigation and effectively counter external threats and challenges in all domains. Strengthening cooperation on cyber security to deter malicious cyber activities on national security systems, to attribute such activities, and to defend against adversaries effectively. Closer partnership of defense intelligence communities in support of military planning and defensive operations.” U.S. Ukraine aid budget for 2021 currently amounts 400$ million. In Romania, Secretary Austin met with President Klaus Iohannis and Minister of National Defense Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca and there too he discussed Black Sea security issues and regional security cooperation. The two sides spoke of “Russia’s malign activities in the Black Sea region, cooperation among Black Sea regional Allies and partners, and new challenges presented by the People’s Republic of China.” Ahead of the NATO Ministerial it was made
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Over the recent years Georgia has gradually fallen from grace with its western allies and its democratic path has started to falter. clear what’s on the minds of those in charge of the United States Department of Defense when it comes to NATO’s Eastern Flank: Russian aggression in the Black Sea, more effective U.S. military engagement with the non-NATO-member allies in the region, and the likely new challenges posed by China. This is Secretary Austin’s first in-person NATO Defense Ministerial. Maia Otarashvili is a Research Fellow and Deputy Director of the Eurasia Program. Maia also serves as the Deputy Director of Research at FPRI. Her research interests include geopolitics and security of the Black Sea-Caucasus region, Russian foreign policy, and the post-Soviet “frozen” conflicts.
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As Pandemic Restrictions Fade, Saudi Businesses Look Forward to Better Days Ahead As pandemic restrictions fade, Saudi businesses look forward to better days ahead By Motasem Al Felou - Jeddah “We are now welcoming our customers with full capacity, who don’t have to wait for long to get a table. The number of our tables has doubled. The restaurant manager told me we might hire more people once we make sure
that COVID-19’s precautionary measures are gone…forever, of course”, said Ameen, a waiter at a restaurant in Jeddah, western of Saudi Arabia. With lifting of most of the restrictions imposed by the Saudi Authorities in the middle of current October, businesses are optimistic that the move will help them work
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more freely with full capacity, and that overcautious people will give up their fears and live their pre-COVID-19 life. The Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madina have removed the physical distance signs on walls and floors. It won’t be long until elementary school students resume their actual classes, ending a couple of years of distance learning and online classes. The Riyadh Season, a huge entertainment festival with thousands of activities held in the Saudi capital, has been launched on the 20th of October without the social distance restrictions. Wedding halls are now allowed to hold celebrations with full capacity. How would lifting the precautionary measures give a boost to the economy and normalize life?
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The Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia operated at full capacity on October 17, with worshippers praying shoulder-to-shoulder for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began. (Image: AFP)
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Saudi economy was hit hard last year when oil prices dropped sharply and consumption rates fell dramatically with the closure of businesses. The GDP contracted by 4.1% and all sectors suffered from less demand or inability to go back to the pre-COVID-19 levels due to the strict rules of social distance that prevented businesses from operating in full capacity. “I work in a company specializing in hotel furniture in Jeddah. There are investors, who started their hotel or furnished apartment business, but were afraid to continue. Last week, I signed a USD 50,000 deal to furnish a small hotel. The hotel owner put everything on hold from March 30, 2020 until the middle of October 2021, when the restrictions were completely lifted. I believe things are picking up. It is a new spirit after long months of uncertainty.”, said Abdullateef Adeeb, a hotel furniture sales manager, speaking to Majalla. A couple of weeks ago, the IMF expected the Saudi economy to grow by 2.8% in 2021, rising from 2.4% that was predicted in July 2021. The government still expects the GDP to grow by 2.6%. The positive indicators of better business performance expectations, the historic nonoil exports at USD 33.41 bn in the first half of 2021, and oil prices that have almost doubled since the beginning of the year, all together herald a year full of economic recovery. “When ordinary people and investors have confidence in the future, they spend more and consume more because they believe they will make more money. This simple rule is most applicable now”, added Abdullateef Adeeb. The advancement of the vaccination campaign has
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The Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madina have removed the physical distance signs on walls and floors. helped the Saudi government ease the restrictions. Over 45 million shots were given to people by the end of last week. With more immune people, the faster life goes back to normal.
STRONGER SOCIAL TIES Tens of thousands of people got married or celebrated their occasions without the attendance of their loved ones as they were afraid to get infected or because the law didn’t allow more than 20 people to get together. At restaurants, only five people were allowed to sit together even if they belonged to the same family. “My brother couldn’t have a big wedding party as he wished. Only 40 people attended his wedding, 20 men and 20 women separately. We were happy and wanted to invite more people, but the authorities are not tolerant with breaking the precautionary measures. My wedding is scheduled in the middle of December. I will invite all my relatives, friends, work colleagues, and everyone I know.”, said Abdul Aziz Hamoud, a private sector employee. Masks are obligatory indoor, but they are not needed when outdoor. People have not seen the faces of each other for almost a couple of years. “My son was born in 2019. I am afraid he might have a social problem. He has only seen my face and his mother’s during 2020 and 2021 with very few exceptions as everyone wears a mask everywhere! I hope he can now interact with more people and grow socially”, said Abdulrahman Tawfeeq, an Arab expat living and working in Jeddah. Easing the COVID-19 restrictions will have a positive impact on people’s social lives. Restaurants are allowed to seat 10 people together on the same table. The maximum number used to be five only. Some families couldn’t eat out. This has come to an end. “Saudis and expats are back to their normal life. The life they knew before the pandemic. I am optimistic that it won’t take long until the world announces the end of COVID-19”, concluded Tawfeeq.
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History Repeats itself in The Land of Battles
Will the Recent Clash in Lebanon trigger The 1975 Civil War? By Latifa el Hassanyeh Beirut - This is Lebanon! A nation with historical identity of cultural heritage, but a past filled with battles. A country well described by its sectarian diversity and at the same time stereotyped by its continuous sectarian battles. History has a way of repeating itself in the country. The only major update is the unprecedented financial crisis that even during the civil war, Lebanon never witnessed. The current critical crisis is seen as on par with that of Chile, which took 16 years to recover from its collapse in 1926, and Spain during its civil war
in the 1930s, which took 26 years to recover. Here, The World Bank estimates that Lebanon may take between 12 and 19 years to recover. In a normal world, authorities and citizens unite together to overcome crisis, and get along to think of future strategies to make their Beirut rise again. Whereas in Lebanon, many still follow their “leaders’, who use them to impose power and authority all over the country. Lebanese clashes aren’t new though. Before, it used to wear a sectarian uniform, whereas today, it is political in the name of sects.
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The clash that happened on October 14th, between opposite armed parties transformed Beirut neighborhoods into a deadly war zone, raising fears and imprisoning kids in their schools. This triggered the fear of another civil war, though it lasted for some hours. Some hours which brought back years of bloodshed, destruction and violence. In the middle of secterian allies, there are some voices that call for change. One of the changes required is the independence of justice from other authorities. Those belong to the majority of independent Lebanese who support the lead investigator in the Beirut Explosion case, Judge Tarek Bitar, the only judge who challenged the authorities for the sake of justice.
The clash that happened on October 14th, between opposite armed parties transformed Beirut neighborhoods into a deadly war zone, raising fears and imprisoning kids in their schools.
Nevertheless, this was not suitable to two Shiite Muslim parties — Hezbollah, an Iran-backed party, and its ally, the Amal Movement, who had organized a protest calling for the removal of the judge. Here the clash happened, and six people were killed. The clash again took a sectarian dimension.
ment has become uncomfortable with the hegemony of Hezbollah over the state, or its presence in Syria, Iraq and Yemen”. He added that what matters to FPM is to take steps with the US administration to lift the sanctions on its president, Gebran Bassil, that may open the way for him to accept the presidency. Salam considered that what happened in the street on Thursday raises Hezbollah concerns in terms of losing its Christian ally that it needs, namely the Aounist movement. “As for Bassil, he considers that the tway to Baabda Palace is through Washington and not through Hezbollah, as in the case of Aoun. This would destroy the Mar Michael agreement.”
The scene on October 14th, brought back the pictures that are stuck in Lebanese memories about the civil war that lasted from 1975 till 1990, and killed 120,000 citizens. Will Lebanon witness another civil war? What about the predicted analysis of a change in Lebanese allies after the clash, based on sectarian bias? Will the clashes affect the alliance of Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement? This and more are the theme of this report. Shiite fighters from Hezbollah and Amal aim a Kalashnikov assault rifle and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher amid clashes in the Tayouneh neighborhood of Beirut. Credit: Agence FrancePresse - Getty Images
Political reviews revealed that the recent bloodshed did unite the Ain el-Rammaneh Christian sect and different political parties (even those who support Michael Aoun, the Lebanese president, and Hezbollah ally). This raises a major question about the effectiveness of the Mar Michael Agreement signed by Hezbollah and its ally, the Free Patriotic Movement (under the leadership of Aoun). In this context, and according to Reuters, a source familiar with Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement said: “We have Christians who reject these scenes that bring back memories of the civil war and at the same time are not pleased with the way the Shiites express their opposition to the issue of Judge Bitar”. Hence, will the Mar Michael Agreement be affected after the clash in Ain Tayouneh? Majalla asked the editor-in-chief of the Lebanese newspaper, Aliwaa, Salah Salam, who considered that “…one of the outcomes of what happened is that the Christians are united in confronting any party that wants to penetrate their areas. He even clarified that some individuals of the Free Patriotic Movement (led by Aoun) were among the fighters in the clash against the Hezbollah and Amal movement that day. Salam also revealed that “..the Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah have reached a new crossroads. “There are many matters about which they have contradicting attitudes, punctuated by a split in strategic interests.” He even described the Mar Michael agreement as “a paper without a pulse”, that “the Aounist move-
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According to the editor-in-chief of Aliwaa newspaper, what happened in Tayouneh, separating between Chiyah (which includes Shiite citizens AND Ain el-Rammaneh (which includes Christian citizens), put Lebanon at a new crossroads: Either civil war or a return to constitutional institutions and setting things right. “I don’t think any of the internal parties are ready for war”, he assured. “Excess power is not a measure of going to war or settling matters.” He continued, that the last speech of the Secretary-General of Hezbollah was just “sabre-rattling”. Salam also considered that, “When Nasrallah spoke about the numbers of fighters he has, it was as if he was saying avoid war with us, but this does not mean that he did not threaten his opponent (the party of Lebanese forces lead by Samir Geagea that he accuses).” Salam revealed that the attention is turning today towards Judge Bitar to investigate the Beirut explosion, and army intelligence to investigate what happened in the clash. “This would cool the atmosphere, proposing political solutions. If the political solution does not succeed, Lebanon may be facing a new turning point, the results of which cannot be predicted so far.” Regarding the obstacles done in the scope of investigating, Salam said that “the more the investigation approaches a point, Hezbollah will confront it, especially what is related to the presence of nitrates in the port, either to change the course of the investigation or to stop it.” He explained also that Hezbollah’s focus on the Lebanese forces and holding them responsible aims to remove a major opponent from its path, as “the Lebanese forces are the only ones who still
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openly reject the party’s weapons and the need to reach a defense policy to be carried out by the state, as well as holding early parliamentary elections to change the current authority, which enjoys the majority support. Hizballah.” He also believes that the Lebanese Forces Party has “reaped the fruits of what happened politically, and advanced over the rest of the Christian parties”, pointing out that the Christian base sympathized with what happened in the defense of Ain el-Rammaneh, regardless of political affiliations. He added, “Despite Nasrallah’s calm tone, the speech included a threat to the Lebanese Army, in an attempt to blame them for not taking security measures that day”. Salam considers this as an important point, being said that way for the first time by Nasrallah.
Historical Background of Lebanese Civil War: What is happening in Lebanon now is an outcome of previous
What is happening in Lebanon now is an outcome of previous incidents that are all related to political power starvation, and sectarian bias.
incidents that are all related to political power starvation, and sectarian bias. This, combined with exterior support led to the current clashes. This what historians and analysists believe. To delve into the history of the Lebanese civil war that has ignited since 1840, “Majalla” spoke to the expert in international and strategic relations, Dr. Walid Arbid, who gave us summaries of what sparked the past wars, most notably sectarian tendencies; “We started our dialogue from that date, when the battle took place between the Maronites and the Druze. In this regard, Arbid said: “Lebanon has known several historical political crises in which weapons were used, including the crisis from 1840 to 1860. These wars indicate the geopolitical position of Lebanon, knowing that the war of 1860 between the Druze and the Maronites produced the positioning of the French forces, as the sects became sheltered in the major countries, where the Orthodox had Russia for them, and the Maronites had France, while for the Catholics there was Austria, which tried to protect the Christians, while the Druze had no connection with any of the major powers.” Arbid believes that there was a conflict between the two regions of southern Mount Lebanon and northern Mount Lebanon back then. “Here we are not talking about the state, but about the entity, after the external forces came to Lebanon, and each of them gained influence.” Arbid continues, “After 1860 came the rule of the Mutasarrifiyya, which pressured the Ottoman Turks not to choose a Sunni official as a mutasarrif, so they brought in the Christians of the Bal-
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Supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal groups chanting slogans against Judge Tarek Bitar, during a protest in Beirut on October 14th, 2021.Credit: Associated Press.
An army soldier helps a schoolgirl get to her parents. Credit: Reuters
kans and handed over the administration of the affairs of Mount Lebanon, which meant the dissolution of the Lebanese back then. This was reinforced by Lebanon’s geopolitical position. “When the French demanded the Lebanese form a LebaneseFrench or French-Syrian alliance in order to build military bases, the British forces were on the lookout for some of the French and some powers, and this resulted in the Saxe-Picot agreement. Our review of that war raises an important question: Is there a connection to what is happening today with the historical roots of the crises in Lebanon? Arbid believes that “it is true that the Druze won at that time, and it is true that the international powers intervened to stop the war between the Maronites and the Druze, but all because of the presence of the Saxe-Picot Agreement and the French mandate.” (Referring to external interference that is a sore point today as well.) Political crises followed in 1952 and lasted till 1958, until the civil war that took place in 1975. For historians, Arbid says, all of this has a connection and historical roots. Will history repeat itself and Lebanon come under international trusteeship, as happened under the French mandate, he wonders. In 1945, Lebanon got its independence from the French Mandate, when “the French gave signs that Lebanon could be an independent country, leaving Lebanon at that time under British pressure. Again, external interference in the picture. Arbid believes that “independent” Lebanon brought Bishara alKhoury to power with a Sunni-Maronite agreement, and he was chosen as President of the Republic; By the year 1947, he tried to renew himself, but the White Revolution, which was carried out
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Political reviews revealed that the recent bloodshed day did unite the Ain el-Rammaneh Christian street, from different political parties. by Kamal Jumblatt and some politicians, prevented that. Arbid continues, “Lebanon went through political crises until 1957.” He added, the outstanding crisis between the Lebanese back then was surrounded by three factors: internal, regional, and international.” The internal factor was the conflict between Muslims and Christians, and the regional conflict was Syria’s intervention in the power, especially after the military coups that were taking place in Syria, which were reflected on Lebanon. As for the international factor, it was the Soviet-American conflict, which had a negative impact on the Middle East. This produced a military coup in Iraq, where the United States of America landed its army on the shores of Lebanon in 1957, and sent its soldiers from Britain to the military airports in Jordan. Arbid continues that after 1968 the Palestinians’ forces in the camps became stronger, and here “Israel intervened, as the Israeli security became linked to how to strike Palestinian security in the camps, and this led to the outbreak of the 1975 war, when the situation exploded as a result of economic, sectarian and social accumulations.”
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Then came the “Taif Agreement in Saudi Arabia, which played a good role in putting an end to the political crisis in Lebanon.” On the other hand, Arbid does not see any possibility of civil war but what happened lately is an outcome of political parties fights that is pure politics. “The current circumstances do not allow a new civil war, considering Lebanon’s position in the struggle between the external forces, asking: Will Lebanon remain with its Western image or will it go East?
Independent Unsectarian Movements In the Middle of Secterian war On the other side of the country, independent movements raise voices for change, demanding a country that respects citizens rights that are reserved by the current authorities. “Majalla” conducted some interviews so as to know where these people stand in the middle of the chaos. Some activists considered the latest scenario as a “play” that keeps running every now & then, where the ruling parties aim at provoking their people to gain stronger support, while preparing to the next elections. Others considered the latest fight as a dangerous warning for an expected war. Now, how will October revolutionists deal with such threatens of war? Below are some nominated answers for political activists: Adham el Hassanieh, a political activist, and a member in “LiHaqqi”, stated to “Majalla” that the Lebanese society is not as sectarian as it is manifested in the latest clashes between political parties. Yes, he said, “the clashes are sectarian but they are mainly driven by political division in order to serve what these clashes aim at which is a wider sectarian support.”
One of the changes required is the independence of justice from other authorities. Those belong to the majority of independent Lebanese who support the lead investigator in Beirut Explosion, Judge Tarek Bitar.
University professor and expert in international and strategic relations, Dr. Walid Arbid
He believes that the political parties might drive Lebanon to war if this will benefit their interests. “Today, Hezbollah is in power, and a leader in the political and social discourse, thus having the largest share of responsibility in how will the coming events escalate, yet the responsibility is still shared among the main six sectarian and feudal political parties.” “LiHaqqi” is known “for its focus on grassroots organizing by geography and by sector, in keeping with its own decentralized and participatory structure. This party believes that the failure of the state is not just because of failed policies, rather because of structural failures, and the exclusion of people from the country’s real political scene.” Hassanieh says. Although the Lebanese learned their lessons from the war, “but unfortunately a minority of armed and moneyed groups would easily start a war, and they can solely decide this.” He added, it is very important to always highlight that the real fight and division was between the ruling oligarchs among themselves, the real separation line lies between people from one side and the ruling oligarchs from the other.” He added, what is required from the people is to stick to a rightsbased approach away from identity and sectarian politics. Majalla wanted to know where nonsectarian movements stand in the middle of this. Thus we referred to “Beirut Madinati” as a
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Engineer and political activist Adham Hassanieh
Tarek Ammar, a member of the political office in “Beirut Madinati.
non-sectarian political movement that strives to advance peoplecentered politics at both the local and national level. “Majalla” conducted an interview with Tarek Ammar, a member of the political office in Beirut Madinati, who revealed that “In Lebanon, sectarian ideas are used for political purposes”. This is a common phrase that independent activists believe in, in the country. He stated to “Majalla” that the Lebanese are not divided because of religious beliefs, rather for political objectives. “Leaders have always used the diversity among Lebanese to create divisions, instead of enriching the diversity in the country. Ammar blamed all sectarian parties and leaders for keeping Lebanon under the threat of a new civil war. “Lebanon has always witnessed violent conflicts since its independence”. He believes that the regime is collapsing, and each is trying to claim that they are under attack. He added, “This period of transition is witnessing further extremism by the regimes, using all that is in its hands, by being sectarian, authoritarian, and corrupting the country. Ammar said, “They fight among each other not for a cause, not for values, not for the country, but their fights are based on what they can grab as their share. The only losers in this battle are the Lebanese who believe in a civil state, where all are equal.” He revealed that, “Today the fight is between those who want justice, who want the investigation in the port explosion to reach its end, and between those who call themselves, the connois-
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seur of how Lebanon can survive. We have always lived with violence, murders, assassinations, explosions, but we were never told what happened, never saw any accountability. Today and after the revolution of October, we will fight for accountability which was one of the main titles of the revolution, even before the port explosion.” Ammar does not believe that a civil war will ever erupt, “..even though the regime can create small battles among themselves, to prevent us from having the country we deserve.” The political activist insisted that “We will stay demonstrating in support of the independence of judiciary, where Lebanese people support Tarek Bitar, the judge leading investigations into last year’s explosion.” Ammar also referred to the movements that Beirut Madinati is up to, through working with different regions in Lebanon, to discuss “our political plan and program, enrich it, and make it reflect what the average citizen wants, which will lead to political change in the parliamentary elections expected next March. Yes, all the Lebanese parties are armed, and yes, they will threaten the citizens of a sudden war, “if things don’t go their way.” This is how Lebanese live, some willingly, but there exist some voices that shout for a change, and call for citizens’ rights. In the land of battles, the voice of change ought to be above all: Lebanon deserves better.
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The End of American Militarism?
Biden Must Confront Washington’s Addiction to Force By Andrew J. Bacevich, Annelle Sheline President Joe Biden would like the world to believe that the United States is changing, and in big ways. The American infatuation with war has ended, he told the UN General Assembly last month. Going forward, the United States will no longer treat military power as “an answer to every problem we see around the world,” he said. Central to the president’s message was an acknowledgment that in recent decades, the United States has not classified force as a “tool of last resort.” On the contrary, the promiscuous use of force has become a hallmark of American statecraft, so much so that phrases such as “endless war” and “forever wars” have become staples of everyday political discourse. In this new era, U.S. global leadership remains important, Biden said, but the United States will lead “not just with the example of our power” but “with the power of our example.” Assume that the president means what he said. Assume further that the Pentagon, the U.S. intelligence agencies, and the military-industrial complex (along with their allies in Congress and the media) concur with the commander in chief. How might his views translate into reality? What difference might they make? In that regard, Biden’s reference to force as a “tool of last resort” answers certain questions but
avoids others. It provides broad but not particularly helpful guidance as to when to use force—not too soon, but presumably just in time—and none whatsoever regarding what might justify the use of force. And it dodges altogether the most crucial question: In the present age, what is armed force good for? If Biden wants to turn this provisional doctrine into something concrete, he needs to build his administration’s policies and spending choices—and not just his speeches—around it. For example, the United States should play by the same rules governing the use of force as it expects other countries to play by. It should reduce its military footprint around the world and reconsider the $1 trillion it plans to spend on its nuclear arsenal over the next several years. These are some of the steps Biden could take if he genuinely wishes to signal that the United States has truly come “back” from the Trump era of “America first.” Yet simply reverting to the status quo that preceded (and helped pave the way for) Donald Trump won’t suffice.
The Rules Do Apply If the president is serious about leading by example, he should bring the United States into compliance with preexisting norms from which it has routinely
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U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at the United Nations in New York City, September 2021. (Eduardo Munoz / Pool / Reuters)
exempted itself, especially in the years since the 9/11 attacks. This means that Washington should fully abandon the idea of preventive war. In his West Point address of May 2002, President George W. Bush declared that the 9/11 attacks had rendered the Cold War–era principles of deterrence and containment defunct. “If we wait for threats to fully materialize,” Bush warned, “we will have waited too long.” Less than a year later, he put this so-called Bush Doctrine into practice by invading Iraq, with disastrous consequences. On a major public occasion such as his next State of the Union Address, Biden should explicitly revoke the Bush Doctrine, unambiguously reinstating deterrence as the cornerstone of U.S. military policy. For too long, successive administrations have conceived of American military might as an expedient means to solve problems—toppling regimes deemed objectionable or bumping off alleged terrorists and other individuals Washington perceived as threatening. Biden should renounce this fantasy. That the United States today has no shortage of foreign adversaries stems at least in part—by no means entirely—from its past misuse of military power. Whatever its present difficulties with Tehran
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If the president is serious about leading by example, he should bring the United States into compliance with preexisting norms from which it has routinely exempted itself, especially in the years since the 11/9 attacks. and Pyongyang, armed conflict is unlikely to provide a cost-effective solution. By extension, Biden should renew the U.S. commitment to the UN Charter, ratified by a 98–2 vote in the U.S. Senate on July 28, 1945. Article 2 of the charter requires all members to “refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force” in any “manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.” Whenever it suited them to do so, successive U.S. administrations have ignored this proviso. Biden should affirm that Article 2 applies to the United States as much as to any other UN member state. And
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Law of the Sea (1982), the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1996), the Mine Ban Treaty, or Ottawa Treaty (1997), and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998). That a badly divided U.S. Senate led by partisans such as Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer is unlikely to take up these matters is no doubt the case. Yet if Biden is serious about aligning the United States with existing international norms, There are many other opportunities to demon- he will at least call upon the Senate to act. A gesstrate good faith by signaling a willingness to ture is better than silent acquiescence. abide by norms to which most members of the Biden’s statements regarding “the power of our international community have committed them- example” ring hollow when the United States selves. This includes honoring the terms of the continues to refuse to sign onto or respect key Fourth Geneva Convention, ratified by the U.S. aspects of international law. The existing pattern Senate in 1949, which defines collective punish- of U.S. behavior is not difficult to decode: Washment as a war crime. By that standard, U.S. eco- ington tends to oppose or ignore any internationnomic sanctions targeting Cuba and Venezuela al agreement that inhibits its freedom to coerce. are illegal and immoral. They have also proven If Biden means what he said to the UN General to be ineffective and should be lifted. As with Assembly, that will have to change. force itself, coercion by other means should become a last resort. More Than Just Lip Service he shouldn’t stop there. Article 51 of the charter offers a caveat to Article 2. It recognizes “the inherent right of individual or collective selfdefense if an armed attack occurs.” Biden should enshrine self-defense—not regime change, nation-building, or the crossing off of putative evildoers on a “kill list”—as the overarching rationale for the use of U.S. military force.
Biden should affirm the renewed U.S. compliance with the Convention Against Torture, ratified by the Senate in 1994 but largely ignored in the years after 9/11. And he should endorse Section 2340A of Title 18 of the United States Code, which makes it a federal crime for public officials to engage in torture outside the United States. Closing the detention facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, once and for all offers one way to signal that the United States is moving beyond torture. Biden should also press the Senate to ratify several key treaties and international agreements, including the UN Convention on the
Cutting the Pentagon’s budget would necessarily have major implications for the configuration and stationing of U.S. armed forces.
If leading by example signifies something more than a throwaway bit of oratory, the president should detail what it will mean in practice. He can begin with the U.S. Department of Defense. Notwithstanding its official name, the Defense Department’s taken-for-granted purpose is not defense: it is power projection. The armed forces of the United States stand ready to deal with potential threats in distant places, such as the Persian Gulf, East Asia, and Europe. As the past two years have starkly revealed, threats that endanger the immediate safety and well-being of Americans where they live are, more often than not, an afterthought. For the Pentagon, this means that freedom of navigation in the South China Sea takes precedence over wildfires, hurricanes, floods, pandemics, and porous borders here at home, not to mention quelling the occasional insurrection. These become the responsibility of agencies whose budgets and resources pale in comparison to what the armed services routinely enjoy. At issue here is the meaning of “national security.” Since the end of World War II, the term
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US soldiers wait to board a Chinook helicopter to head out on a mission in Afghanistan. (Reuters)
has implied addressing military threats by relying on overt or covert military action. As a result, the Pentagon is accustomed to getting the lion’s share of resources earmarked for national security. Within the foreign policy establishment, this allocation of resources—the Pentagon being the big winner while others survive on relative scraps—is not even remotely controversial. Biden should insist on redressing this imbalance, allocating more money to agencies such as the Coast Guard, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Border Patrol, with the army, navy, and air force obliged to get by with a bit less.
to the recent vote in the House of Representatives approving $768 billion in new military spending for 2022—the largest-ever military budget in total dollars—he has yet to say so publicly. Cutting the Pentagon’s budget would necessarily have major implications for the configuration and stationing of U.S. armed forces. Here, too, is an opportunity for Biden to demonstrate that he is serious about classifying force as a last resort and emphasizing noncoercive approaches to leadership. Closing one or more of the six U.S. regional combatant commands, which oversee U.S. military operations across vast geographic expanses, offers a good place to start. In that regard, United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which asserts “responsibility” over the entirety of South America and the Caribbean, should be the first to go.
Deeply invested in the status quo, the militaryindustrial complex will oppose any move away from the standard conception of national security. So if Biden is committed to change, he has his work cut out for him. Whether he is willing to spend the necessary political capital to take on The United States’ neighbors to the south face a the forces committed to existing arrangements variety of challenges. Chief among them are ecoremains to be seen. If, for example, Biden objects nomic underdevelopment; fragile political insti-
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tutions; domestic troubles related to corruption, crime, and the drug trade; and not least of all, climate change. That the United States should exert itself to alleviate these problems is no doubt the case. But none of them avail themselves to military solutions. Apart from offering employment to a four-star general or admiral, SOUTHCOM is about as relevant to present-day national security concerns as the crumbling coastal artillery emplacements still found flanking major U.S. ports. More broadly, the Biden administration should also reduce the number of U.S. overseas bases abroad. There are currently some 750 in over 80 countries. Where to begin trimming the U.S. overseas military profile? Europe. Nearly eight decades after World War II and some three decades after the Cold War, it is no longer necessary for U.S. forces to garrison prosperous democracies such as Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, which are fully capable of defending themselves. In addition to reducing the U.S. military’s footprint, the Biden administration should also curb the export of American manufactured weaponry, which in fiscal year 2020 amounted to a world-leading $175 billion. Curtailing the sale of advanced arms to Saudi Arabia—currently exceeding $3 billion annually—offers a place to start. The ongoing modernization of the U.S. nuclear strike force also offers a place to begin a shift
The ongoing modernization of the U.S. nuclear strike force also offers a place to begin a shift away from militarism and a chance to redirect defense spending to more urgent priorities.
away from militarism and a chance to redirect defense spending to more urgent priorities. Nuclear war (or a nuclear mishap) remains one of the most immediate threats to humanity. With minimal public debate, the United States is currently engaged in replacing its entire existing “strategic triad,” consisting of long-range bombers, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and land-based, intercontinental ballistic missiles. This project will likely continue until midway through the next decade and will cost at least $1 trillion. And yet, as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), the United States has vowed to “pursue negotiations in good faith” leading to “nuclear disarmament.” If Biden wants to demonstrate that he is serious about leading by example, he might consider treating U.S. obligations under the NPT with something other than lip service. Refurbishing rather than replacing the U.S. nuclear arsenal would do just that. So, too, would foregoing the option of a nuclear first strike, meaning a preemptive attack to take out an adversary’s arsenal. A “no-firstuse” pledge would not prevent the United States from retaliating in the event of being targeted by a nuclear attack. It would, however, signal that the United States is serious about removing the sword of Damocles that the nuclear powers have suspended over humankind since the early days of the Cold War.
A New Cold War? The best testing ground for Biden to put his words into action is China. If force is truly the option of last resort, Biden will exert himself to prevent the increasingly adversarial U.S. relationship with China from becoming an all-out military competition. Allowing the U.S.-Chinese relationship to center on an arms race, comparable to the one that drove U.S.-Soviet antagonism in the 1950s, would be the height of rashness. Yet as the recently announced Australia-United Kingdom-United States agreement to sell nucle-
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Leaving a memorial for two U.S. soldiers killed near Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, December 2014. (Lucas Jackson / Reuters)
ar-powered submarines to Australia suggests, Biden appears to be leaning in that very direction. In his speech at the UN, Biden said that the United States is not “seeking a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocs.” But actions speak louder than words, and so far, Biden seems to be either accepting a new Cold War as all but inevitable or welcoming such a prospect. In either case, with the submarine deal, the credibility of Biden’s assertion that the United States now intends to lead by example begins to look rather thin. Perhaps Biden is banking on enhancing the military power of second-tier U.S. allies to make China more accommodating. If so, he is placing a very large and risky bet. In respectable circles, “America first” rates as tantamount to blasphemy. It harkens back to the irresponsibility of the 1930s and the clueless-
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ness of Biden’s predecessor. In fact, however, keeping America first—maintaining a position of global primacy—has long ranked as the paramount objective of the foreign policy establishment of which Biden is a card-carrying member. Members of that establishment accept it as given that the United States should enjoy privileges and prerogatives not allowed to any other country. The American people agree, classifying such privileges and prerogatives as their due. Perhaps the United States should consider the present moment as an invitation to reassess that proposition. At the very least, policymakers might consider the possibility that further misuse of military power will only serve to squander what remains of the United States’ privileged status. This article was originally published on (TNS).
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Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister: Government Has Begun Radical Process to Reform Economy
Ali Abdul Amir Allawi Speaks to Majalla on Economic Reform Efforts By: Salam Zeidan Baghdad- The Iraqi government has begun a radical process to reform the economy through the white paper, said the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ali Abdul Amir Allawi, noting that 2022’s budget will include major reform steps. In an interview with Majalla, Allawi said Iraq is currently negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support the reforms it is undertaking, adding that it might borrow between three and four billion dollars from the fund. Changing the exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar has many benefits, he stressed. These include increasing investment requests to establish industrial projects after the collapse of the industrial sector as a result of the previous dollar exchange rate, which supported imports while negatively affecting local products. Below is the dialogue: 1- How did the government face the financial and economic challenges in Iraq after the spread of the coronavirus? Iraq went through exceptional circumstances during the pandemic, which caused a decrease in the demand for oil and a drop in its prices. The government is also responsible for fulfilling the commitments made by the previous government during the popular protests in 2019. Therefore, this government started its work without any financial source and with a billion dollars in its treasury, espe-
cially since the virus has contributed to an increase in unemployment rates and the loss of job opportunities. However, we have an integrated program to reform the economy, represented in the White Paper. We have embarked on a profoundly radical economic reform process, which started with enhancing government performance. We cannot create a supportive environment for the private sector without changing the role played by the state in the economy, increasing the productivity and improving the performance of the public sector. The government may give exemptions and incentives to the private sector, but these can’t be handled by the public sector. We first carried out reforms in public banks, customs and taxes since the reform usually begins from the finance ministry. We managed to present a long lasting reform program that should be adopted by the next government as it aims to create balance between oil and non-oil revenues. 2- Will the 2022 budget be a reform budget? The strategic committee established to prepare the budget held more than 20 meetings and prepared a budget for the year 2022 and the next three years. It will be submitted to the next parliament, which will be formed after the elections. It is a reform budget aimed at changing the economy for
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raq’s Finance Minister Ali Abdul Amir Allawi
the better. It prioritizes paying the salaries of employees, retirees and social welfare, in addition to reforming other sectors and financing projects. Iraq does not lack resources but rather suffers from their poor distribution and management. Resources have been wasted due to the wrong policies approved in previous years. Therefore, we launched a model budget aimed at creating a private sector capable of managing the requirements of it may not be approved at all. We cannot but introduce government reforms in the budget law, which is binding the modern economy and playing its actual role. for one year only. 3- Has the finance ministry started reforming the public Some basic issues require legislation, and we cannot evade them, while others require approval by the cabinet banking sector? The ministry began reforming the Rafidain Bank, which to be passed. We are currently working to reform the tax system in constitutes 80 percent of the public banking sector. Iraq and avoid popular opposition, which may hinder its We have restructured, changed the internal system and implementation. cut off the connection of the bank’s board of directors with the finance ministry since half of its members follow The tax system is part of the reforms introduced in the White Paper, so it is necessary to secure exemptions for the bank manager’s orders. We also introduced the concept of governance. But this investors, being part of the stimulus policy. process takes years because it involves training employ- We are currently focusing on automating taxes, raising ees, merging branches and introducing the digital system, the level of efficiency of employees in this regard and enall of which are carried out in coordination with the Cen- hancing tax collection. These require three to five years to be implemented since Iraq is one of the countries with the tral Bank. lowest rates of tax revenues. 4- Why does not Iraq have a new tax law yet? Any legislation in Iraq needs time to be approved, and 5- Did the new dollar exchange rate serve the economy?
“We launched a model budget that allows the private sector to play its actual role.”
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The exchange rate of the US dollar against the dinar represents the economy’s shell. The previous exchange rate mainly benefited the importers and contributed to the decline and disappearance of many economic sectors, so it was supposed to be reconsidered. After changing the dollar exchange rate, requests for industrial investment licenses increased. Investors have been taking advantage of the new exchange rate, which contributes to creating a competitive atmosphere. The Ministry of Finance allocated sums of funds in this year’s budget to support the segments affected by the new exchange rate, especially since this change was accompanied with change in global prices, which contributed to the hike in the prices of some commodities internally. 6- Why is the relationship between Baghdad and Erbil still tense economically? The 2021 state budget law stated that the Kurdistan Region delivers 250,000 barrels of oil per day to Baghdad and half of the non-oil revenues, but the region did not adhere to its commitment. According to the data obtained, 60 percent of Iraq’s imports pass through the northern ports, making them not subject to the customs tax system implemented in other government outlets in southern and central Iraq.
Negotiations with the IMF began in late 2020, when the country needed financial support. But our financial situation has improved after the rise in oil prices and the positive impact of the rise in the dollar exchange rate. Iraq needs support for its reform policy, and the IMF could be able to provide this support through one of its programs. We may get a loan of three to four billion dollars.
9- Why did Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s government decide to sign economic deals with Egypt and Jordan? The Egyptian and Jordanian markets are similar to Iraq’s. The region could later be transformed into an economic zone and include other similar markets, represented by Lebanon and Syria. It is difficult to link Iraq’s economy with Turkey, Iran or the GCC due to the disproportion, since the Iraqi market 8- Will Iraq borrow from the International Monetary is relatively small. Fund? 10- Why does the Ministry of Electricity always accuse the Ministry of Finance of being the reason behind the electricity problem in the country? The finance ministry disburses the funds after being allocated by the Ministry of Planning, and in the absence of any allocation, we cannot disburse any amount. Therefore, it is wrong to accuse our ministry. The Ministry of Electricity faces many problems, including gas contracts, the operation and production of stations, in addition to the transport, distribution and collection. It is noteworthy that there are over 200,000 employees in the ministry, which adds a great burden to its challenges. 7- Why did the Ministry of Finance send money to the Kurdistan Region? The ministry voted ‘No’ - it was the parliament’s decision to send 200 billion dinars ($138 million) to the Kurdistan region for humanitarian purposes. We need the cabinet’s approval to send another amount to the region.
Over the past two decades, the FBI has reportedly built a network of at least 15,000 registered informants, some of whom are paid to infiltrate American Muslim communities.
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raq’s Finance Minister Ali Abdul Amir Allawi
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Two Opposing American Opinions: Death for Dzhokhar? Boston Marathon Bombing Suspects Face Final Judgement in Few Months By Mohamad Ali Salih - Washington In 2013, during the annual Boston Marathon, two Muslim brothers, originally Chechen from Kyrgyzstan, Dzhokhar (origin Arabic “Jowhar”) Tsarnaev, and Tamerlane (origin Arabic “Timur”) Tsarnaev, detonated two homemade pressure-cooker bombs, killing 3 people and injuring hundreds. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said the two later killed a policeman and had a shootout with the police, during which Tamerlane was killed, and his brother Dzhokhar ran away. Eventually, Dzhokhar was found hiding in a boat in someone’s backyard. He was shot and wounded by police before being arrested. Later, the FBI announced that the older brother, Tamerlane, was involved, two years earlier, in the slaughtering of three men, two of them Jewish and they were all involved in the drug trade. During questioning, Dzhokhar said that he and his brother plotted the Boston Marathon bombs because of their anger at the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
During Dzhokhar’s trial, he elaborated on the Muslims’ anger at the US, because of the invasions and because of the US-led Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). Dzhokhar was sentenced to death, but his lawyers appealed, saying that the jurors were not told about his brother’s involvement in the slaughtering of the three men, implying that Dzhokhar was coerced by his violent older brother to participate in the Boston Marathon bombing. Last week, the appeals and counter-appeals reached the US Supreme Court, which is expected to issue its judgement in a few months. These are two opposing opinions: On one side, Ginger Anders, Dzhokhar’s lawyer. On the other side, Eric Feigin, Assistant Solicitor General Lawyer: “Jihadist Brother”: “Under the Constitution, a death sentence is lawful only if it reflects a reliable and reasoned moral judgment to the offense and the defend-
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“Under the Constitution, a death sentence is lawful only if it reflects a reliable and reasoned moral judgment to the offense and the defendant’s culpability.
Dzhokhar
The government’s lawyers argued that Tamerlane was merely bossy. But the evidence showed that wasn’t true: First, the government’s lawyers argued that Jihadist Tamerlane sent his younger brother just a few extremist articles. There was more than that.
ant’s culpability. That bedrock principle was violated by the District Court in two ways in this case: First, it refused to learn whether jurors had been exposed to publicity that could prejudice their consideration of the death penalty. Second and more fundamentally, it excluded evidence that Tamerlane, Dzhokhar’s older brother, robbed and murdered three people as an act of jihad. That evidence was central to the mitigation of the case … Our entire argument is that Dzhokhar was less culpable because his older, and very violent brother, Tamerlane, had indoctrinated him and then led him to do the bombings. Also, the fact that the brother had committed himself to violent jihad must have added to his pressure on Dzhokhar. That had a profound effect on Dzhokhar, who was already enthralled by his brother, and, therefore, would have felt intense pressure to follow Tamerlane’s chosen path and to accept extremist violence as justified … The District Court’s exclusion of the evidence distorted the penalty phase by enabling the government’s lawyers to present a deeply misleading account of the key issues of influence and leadership.
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Second, the government’s lawyers argued that Tamerlane was not involved in violent jihad until his younger brother joined him. That was not true… A sentencing proceeding where the defense is not permitted to make its fundamental mitigation argument, and to rebut the government’s aggravation arguments, cannot result in a reliable and constitutional death sentence… The key point here is that the test for relevance is the permissible inferences that the jury can draw from this evidence. And so, I think the District Court committed legal error here by saying that the evidence lacked any probative value at all. I think the far stronger inference here from the evidence was that, in fact, Tamerlane had a significant role in the killings of the three men. We know that because not only did Todashev (a participant in the killing) say that, but, also, in Dzhokhar’s own statement to a friend that his older brother had committed these killings as acts of jihad… “He would not have said that if this had been a minor role …”
Eric Feigin: “Dzhokhar Terrorist”: “After watching video of Dzhokhar, by himself, and personally, placing a bomb behind a group of children at the Boston Marathon, the jury returned a verdict unanimously recommending capital punishment for that specific deliberate act … The Court of Appeals (that reversed the District Court): First, it should have let that verdict stand. Instead, it unearthed a previously unmentioned supervisory rule (by brother Tamerlane).
The District Court’s exclusion of the evidence distorted the penalty phase by enabling the government’s lawyers to present a deeply misleading account of the key issues of influence and leadership.
Second, it usurped the District Court’s discretion by insisting that the jury had to hear unreliable hearsay accusations against Dzhokhar’s brother by a dead man with a powerful motive to lie (Todashev, who participated in the killing of the three men). We’ll never know how or why three drug dealers were killed in 2011. And none of Dzhokhar lawyers’ theories justifies inserting that separate crime into the proceedings for Dzhokhar’s own participation in the 2013 Marathon bombing. And even if the Court of Appeals had identified a misstep in one of the hundreds of judgment calls that this complex trial required, any error here was harmless. The experienced District Court, with an impartial jury, heard overwhelming evidence about Dzhokhar’s own actions and motivations. And, then, rendered a sound judgment against a motivated terrorist who willingly maimed and murdered innocents, including an eight-year-old boy, in furtherance of jihad …”
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A Weekly Political News Magazine
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Issue 1875- October- 22/10/2021
Ons Jabeur: Tunisia’s Minister of Happiness www.majalla.com
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The Syrian War on An Ancient Heritage
Large-scale Looting and Smuggling of Artefacts Fragmented the Symbols of Syria’s history By Jiwan Soz – Qamishli Despite the efforts of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which
is known more widely by its acronym, UNESCO and several European-funded projects aimed at protecting Syrian monuments, the years following the outbreak of the raging war in Syria has seen
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The Aleppo Citadel on December ,25 2006. (Photo credit: Dan via flickr)
large-scale looting and destruction of Syrian monuments and artefacts have been smuggled abroad, appearing in more than one country in the world, including European, Asian and Arab capitals. According to sources in The Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) in the Syrian capital, Damascus, the country has lost a lot of its heritage during the war that continues until now, due to the destruction that reached to ancient buildings and historical markets, as happened in the old city of Aleppo, which was subjected to great destruction as a result of armed confrontations there between government forces and their opposition. The other problem is the theft from museums after the cities in which they are located fell into the hands of multiple armed parties, such as “AlQaeda” and “ISIS”, and others, as happened to the Museum of the city of Raqqa. The sources revealed to Majalla that the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums continues
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The country has lost a lot of its heritage during the war due to the destruction that reached to ancient buildings and historical markets to restore archaeological sites that were damaged during the war period, as well as archaeological artefacts that were partially damaged as a result of the armed confrontations that took place near the places where the Directorate kept these artefacts. In early October, the Directorate announced the restoration and display of the sculpture of the Ain al-Tal (Eye of the Hill) site in the National Museum of Aleppo, after a joint Syrian-Italian team from the University of Florence completed the res-
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toration of the sculpture of the archaeological site. “In mid-September, we finished restoring 132 artefacts, ranging from pottery to glass, all owned by Syrian museums and archaeological sites.” an employee at The Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) told Majalla. “The restoration work included several stages; the first of which was studying the condition of each piece, secondly, the estimation of the factors of damage and obtained therefrom, and the last stage is cleaning, strengthening, gluing and coloring it if
Syrian Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) estimated that some 19,000 archaeological sites were vandalized and “illegally” excavated, as well as 700 archaeological sites and buildings damaged.
necessary”, he explained. He continued; “The restoration process was carried out under the supervision of the Directorate of Scientific Laboratories, the Pottery and Glass Restoration Branch, a subsidiary of the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums,” explaining that; “The restored artefacts date back to several historical times, and are shaped like saucers, dolls, carts and bottles.” He also pointed out that “The processes of restoration and consolidation were carried out in accordance with precise techniques and appropriate scientific methods, so that they would not affect their authenticity after being strengthened and attached to each other by multiple materials.” The Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) is a governmental body that is administratively subject to the authority of Damascus and is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture. It is also responsible for the protection, promotion and excavation activities of all national heritage sites in the country since its foundation in 1946. Although the directorate continues to restore archaeological sites and artefacts, this does not prevent multiple local parties from excavating archaeological sites and then smuggling their antiquities abroad, until Syrian artefacts are publicly offered
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A view shows part of Aleppo’s ancient citadel as seen from a rebelheld area in Aleppo, Syria July 2015 ,12. A section of the wall of the ancient citadel in Aleppo was destroyed by an explosion in a tunnel under the city, state media and activists reported in July. (REUTERS/ Abdalrhman Ismail)
View of the courtyard of the Great Mosque of the Umayyad, Aleppo with one of the two ablution fountains and the -45meter high minaret in the background, on December 2006 ,25. (Photo credit: Dan via flickr)
for sale on social media pages. Majalla was not able to obtain a comment from officials in the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums about the excavations carried out by various parties in the country, but an employee of the Directorate said that; “preventing antiquities excavations and smuggling is the responsibility of the security authorities and not one of our tasks.” On the other hand, the Government of Damascus has repeatedly called for the assistance of international and United Nations organizations for the return of artefacts illegally removed from Syrian territory to be replaced in the country’s museums and cultural institutions. However, the Syrian authorities have only been able to recover hundreds of artefacts so far after they were confiscated by the Lebanese authorities while people were trying to bring them into Lebanon, although the number of looted artefacts since the outbreak of the Syrian war is estimated at hundreds of thousands. More than once months ago, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published reports confirming that armed opposition fighters began excavation of monuments in the city of Afrin and its archaeological hills. In addition, more than one person was detained by the Turkish authorities during their at-
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tempt to introduce Syrian artefacts into their territory earlier last year. Last June, Damascus announced that groups branded as terrorists had dug and bulldozed several sites on the outskirts of the fortress of Al Nabi Houri in Afrin, using modern equipment provided by Ankara to the armed groups it supports in that area. Archaeological excavations in the area of Afrin under the control of the Turkish army and Syrian groups supported by it have been ongoing since March 2018, “thoughtfully and under the supervision of Turkish intelligence,” on charges by the Government of Damascus, to be later smuggled into Turkish territory and then transferred to other countries. According to earlier statements by the Minister of Culture of the Damascus government, Lubanah Mshaweh, various antiquities were smuggled from Syria, across the borders with Turkey in the first place, and then Israel and Lebanon in the second and third places. The Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) estimated that some 19,000 archaeological sites were vandalized and “illegally” excavated, as well as 700 archaeological sites and buildings damaged, but the UN says that some 190 historical archaeological sites classified as Syrian
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cultural heritage have been vandalized during the military conflict that continues to date. In the footsteps of the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums, the Civil Council of Raqqa, which is under the authority of the “Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria”, restored the city’s museum about two years ago, which had about 90% of its contents stolen during the fall of Raqqa under the control of opposition fighters and later ISIS. About three years ago, UNESCO and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research issued the first book that provides a comprehensive assessment of the destruction of the World Heritage Site of the ancient city of Aleppo also during the
The ancient city of Aleppo was one of six archaeological sites in Syria that were included by UNESCO in 2013 on its list of World Heritage in Danger.
years of armed conflict in the country. Heritage experts on both sides relied on satellite images and other materials confirming the destruction of 10 percent of the historical buildings in the city of Aleppo. According to the book, which monitored the state of Syrian heritage after five years of armed confrontations between different military parties, about half of the buildings that were included in the evaluation of UNESCO and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research sustained moderate and enormous damage. Moreover, the book assesses the losses suffered by about 518 archaeological sites, including the Citadel of Aleppo and the Great Umayyad Mosque. Both of the latter two sites are among the most prominent archaeological landmarks of the city, which date back to the second millennium BC. The ancient city of Aleppo was one of six archaeological sites in Syria that were included by UNESCO in 2013 on its list of World Heritage in Danger. Jiwan Soz is a researcher and journalist who focuses on Turkish affairs and minorities in the Middle East. He is also a member of Syndicat National des Journalistes (National Syndicate of Journalists [SNJ]).
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A general view shows the damage inside the Umayyad mosque, in the government-controlled area of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 2016 ,13. (REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki)
A specialist works on a damaged statue from Palmyra at Syria’s National Museum of Damascus, Syria January 2019 ,9. Picture taken January 2019 ,9. (REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki)
A Syrian archeologist holds an artifact that was transported to Damascus for safe-keeping during the Syrian Civil War. (AP/ Hassan Ammar)
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The Korean Invasion
“Squid Game”: The Latest Cultural Export from South Korea to Take the World by Storm By Sue Mi Terry Squid Game, the South Korean television show in which deeply indebted people compete with one another in a deadly tournament, has become Netflix’s top offering in 90 countries, including the United States, and is already the streaming service’s most popular original program ever. I am one of the millions of viewers who binge-watched all nine episodes as soon as they came out. Not only is the series well-plotted, but it also captures deep-seated concerns among many people in prosperous societies about ever-widening income inequality. The show is only the latest cultural export from South Korea to take the world by storm. From pop music acts such as the boy band BTS to movies such as Parasite (which became the first foreign-language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2020), Hallyu, or the Korean “wave,” is enjoying unprecedented global success. Historically more worried about fending off Chinese and Japanese cultural domination than spreading its own culture abroad, South Korea has now become a global softpower juggernaut. Although millions of people around the world now regularly engage with South Korean culture, few know how it became so successful. The country’s cultural growth was not simply the work of a handful of inspired creators. It was the result of a long-term government effort to expand specific creative industries, a strategy that has paid hard-power dividends in the form of economic growth and greater global influence. With this newfound clout, Seoul has a chance to take on a more active role in contemporary international politics—spreading its democratic ideals alongside its increasingly ubiquitous popular culture.
A STAR IS BORN South Korea’s cultural renaissance was born out of adversity.
President Kim Dae-jung, who had come to power in 1998 when South Korea was still reeling from the Asian financial crisis, targeted media and popular culture as a major source of economic growth. Under the aegis of the “Hallyu Industry Support Development Plan,” his administration set a goal of increasing the value of South Korea’s cultural industry (“music, soaps, movies, animations, games, and characters”) to $290 billion in two years, larger than the country’s semiconductor sector, which was then worth $280 billion. The government also expanded the cultural industry budget from $14 million in 1998 to $84 million in 2001. To boost the production of Korean popular culture, the South Korean government used the same public-private partnership template that Seoul originally developed to grow its electronics, shipbuilding, automaking, and other export industries. In conjunction with public relations firms, technology companies, and other parts of the private sector, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism began developing detailed business plans designed to grow overseas markets for Korean TV dramas, movies, and popular songs and offered loans to entrepreneurs and training for aspiring artists. The 2002 television drama Winter Sonata marked the first big success of this initiative. The show—a tearjerker about two young lovers—became a global hit partly as a result of deals the Korean government struck with foreign broadcasters and quickly attracted a cult following worldwide. Sales of Winter Sonata merchandise surpassed $3.5 million in Japan alone, and when the show’s lead actor visited Tokyo in 2004, thousands of middleaged women came out to the airport to greet him. Meanwhile, the number of foreign tourists traveling to South Korea grew by nearly 75 percent from 2003 to 2004. The bulk of the growth, according to South Korean tourism officials, stemmed from the allure of Korean popular culture. Subsequent South Korean governments have sought to capitalize on these early successes. Roh Moo-hyun, who assumed the presidency in 2003, coined the phrase “Creative Korea” and increased
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The Netflix series “Squid Game” is played on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken September 2021 ,30. REUTERS/Kim HongJi/Illustration
subsidies for cultural startups. His conservative successor, Lee Myung-bak, prioritized cultural exports as a means of enhancing South Korea’s national image and fostering economic growth. Lee was particularly keen on promoting Korean food, such as kimchi. The next president, Park Geun-hye, promised in her inaugural speech that “cultural enrichment” would be one of her administration’s main objectives. Park’s term in office also coincided with the release of pop singer Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” which quickly exploded in popularity; the video has since been viewed more than four billion times on YouTube. Park took advantage of the song’s global reach by showcasing K-pop in her visits abroad. Psy’s success also helped justify the government’s plans to pour millions of dollars into the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism for projects that included a series of giant auditoriums and cultural centers. President Moon Jae-in, a progressive who took power in 2017, has continued to support cultural production with tax incentives and subsidies. Moon’s government has also sought to use soft power to enhance South Korea’s international standing. His signature foreign policy initiative—the New Southern Policy, designed to expand Seoul’s ties with India and countries across Southeast Asia—has helped turn the broader region into one of the largest markets for Korean pop culture. Moon also arranged for K-pop acts such as Red Velvet and Baek Ji-young to perform in Pyongyang during his 2018 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and his government appointed the singers of boy band BTS as “special presidential envoys” to the United Nations “for future generations and culture.” More than one million people around the world tuned in to watch the band’s speech at the UN General Assembly. The economic payoff of these policies has been immense. In 2019, South Korea exported $12.3 billion in pop culture (up from
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To boost the production of Korean popular culture, the South Korean government used the same publicprivate partnership template that Seoul originally developed to grow its electronics, shipbuilding, automaking, and other export industries. a mere $189 million in 1998), including computer games, musical tours, and cosmetics. By one estimate, the number of South Koreans employed in cultural fields grew to 644,847 in 2017— three percent of the entire workforce. BTS alone is an economic powerhouse. According to the Hyundai Research Institute, the band generates an estimated $3.5 billion per year in economic activity. In 2017, around 800,000 tourists—about seven percent of all arrivals in South Korea—visited because of their interest in the group. Some of the other economic benefits of Korean soft power are subtler but no less important. Many people around the world perceive South Korea as small, unthreatening, and increasingly “cool.” Korean exports and investment have sparked little backlash among Americans, even though South Korea runs a trade surplus with the United States. Korean companies such as Samsung, LG, Kia, and Hyundai have become uncontroversial parts of everyday American life—in sharp contrast to Japanese
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companies such as Toyota, Sony, and Honda in the 1980s and Chinese firms such as Huawei today. A Gallup poll found that 77 percent of Americans have a positive view of South Korea, up from only 46 percent in 2003. That is far more positive than American views of traditional allies such as Australia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—to say nothing of other Asian countries. Soft power also strengthens the long-standing military alliance between the United States and South Korea, which withstood former President Donald Trump’s accusations that Seoul was a military freeloader seeking to take advantage of U.S. largess. Such claims failed to resonate in the United States not only because of a shared history of sacrifice dating back to the Korean War but also because of the positive attitude toward South Korea held by many Americans, a view largely fostered by cultural exports.
Beyond these economic and political benefits, soft power is changing the very nature of South Korean society. Thanks in part to bustling cultural industries, the country’s Confucian, respectyour-elders traditions are yielding to a more vibrant and freewheeling ethos—even as the population ages and the workforce declines. Young South Koreans are now more likely to aspire to artistic and creative careers than to jobs as salarymen in large corporate conglomerates. The old hierarchical system worked well in the industrial age, but this new entrepreneurial model is more appropriate for the information age and will help South Korea accelerate its difficult transition from an economy organized around heavy industry to one focused on the production of intellectual property. Creativity, after all, is just as important in information technology as it is in art—especially as Korean firms begin to compete with dynamic U.S. companies such as Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon.
Soft power also strengthens the long-standing military alliance between the United States and South Korea, which withstood former President Donald Trump’s accusations that Seoul was a military freeloader seeking to take advantage of U.S. largess.
HARD-POWER CHOICES South Korea’s cultural efflorescence poses a challenge to its leaders. For decades, other countries such as Japan and the United States have used their cultural cachet to advance human rights, encourage economic development, and support global democracy. Seoul can follow suit. A good start would be to increase spending on development assistance. South Korea currently lags behind wealthy governments in the percentage of GDP that it allocates for development aid, ranking well below Japan, the United States, and most European countries. South Korea also generally refrains from criticizing the growing list of human rights abuses committed by China, its biggest trade partner. Seoul fears a repeat of 2017 when Beijing lashed out after Moon Jae-in’s government agreed to host a new U.S. missile defense system. China canceled tourism visits, reduced purchases
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This undated photo released by Netflix shows South Korean cast members, from left, Park Hae-soo, Lee Jung-jae and Jung Ho-yeon in a scene from “Squid Game.” (Youngkyu Park/Netflix via AP)
This undated photo released by Netflix shows a scene of contestants vying to win the Dalgona Korean candy challenge in a scene from “Squid Game.” (Youngkyu Park/Netflix via AP)
of South Korean goods, removed South Korean music videos and dramas from Chinese streaming services, and canceled Kpop tours of China. South Korea suffered at least $7.5 billion in economic losses, demonstrating that soft power can be a point of vulnerability as well as strength. But South Korea is quickly becoming strong enough that, while still treading carefully with regard to China, it can afford to be more outspoken in standing up for democratic values. South Korean soft power will matter only at the margins when it comes to changing Chinese behavior, but it can be far more powerful in North Korea. Much as Western cultural exports such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Levi Strauss, Hershey, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles once helped to undermine the Soviet bloc and win the Cold War, South Korean soft power has the potential to challenge North Korean despotism by tempting its population with the seductive fruits of democracy and capitalism. The North Korean government, for its part, describes these cultural exports at once dismissively as nampung (“Southern wind”) and with more alarm as a “weapon.” Nevertheless, many North Koreans still manage to watch South Korean dramas and listen to K-pop on USB drives smuggled in from China and sold on the black market. The most realistic part of the popular South Korean series Crash Landing on You—the story of a South Korean heiress who accidentally paraglides into North Korea, lands on a soldier, and falls in love with him—is its depiction of North Korean villagers secretly watching South Korean dramas. Some defectors to the South say they had grown to admire and even yearn for South Korea after watching its television programs. Pyongyang has predictably responded by warning citizens to stay away from all things South Korean, including its fashion, music, hairstyles, and even slang, such as oppa (“older brother”), a term made famous in “Gangnam Style.” Instead of capitalizing on its cultural allure, however, South Ko-
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rea is so concerned about offending its neighbor that it recently banned the distribution of propaganda—in the form of USB flash drives, CDs, books, and other publications—into the North via balloon. The ban also criminalizes the use of loudspeakers and placards in the border area. Going forward, Seoul would be well advised to do the opposite—devote greater resources to helping South Korean culture penetrate the North. Such exports could help foster the peaceful reunification of the peninsula by making the South Korean model more attractive for Northerners, much as Western culture helped to break down the Berlin Wall. Moreover, South Korean soft power could also make any future reunification less painful by fostering a shared culture on both sides of the DMZ. Beyond North Korea, South Korea also has the opportunity to harness its soft power to promote democratic values, particularly in Asia, where its cultural offerings already resonate. Of course, films such as Parasite and shows such as Squid Game are double-edged swords; they showcase the power of capitalist culture while simultaneously illustrating the dangers of excessive income inequality in a capitalist system. The fact that South Korea produces such self-aware and critical narratives, however, is itself a tribute to free expression that would be unimaginable in many countries, including China. South Korea has done a superb job of growing its soft power in ways that other countries can only envy and emulate. But Seoul now has a far tougher job: figuring out how to harness that power to achieve the country’s foreign policy aims. As part of this process, South Korea needs to decide what it stands for. Does it want only to export entertainment, or does it also want to export its democratic ideals—solidifying its cultural star power along the way? This article was originally published on (TNS).
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Meet the “De Bruyne” Saudi Female Player Farah Jefry: Football Is Not Only a Sport To Me, It Is My Way of Life By Sarah Gamal Female footballers are not permitted to play side-by- side with male star football players yet. However, this does not prevent them from having their dreams of being on the same distinguished levels as these stars. In the football pitches of Jeddah, Saudi women continue to highlight their talents. A group of female players broke the norm and stormed competitive sports in the world of football through a women›s football league in the city of Jeddah. Although the game is not played in most countries of the world, football has begun to make its way strongly into the
“I have heard plenty of opinions about how this is game is only meant for men not women. However, I do believe that at the end of the day this is a sport, just like any other sport, and it is meant for either gender.”
female population in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where there is interest in discovering enough talent to build a strong women›s league in the next stage of development. One of the most notable names in Saudi sports is none other than the Kingdom’s current ambassador to the US, Princess Reema bint Bandar. Before her diplomatic engagement, Princess Reema served as the General Sports Authority’s (GSA) Deputy of Planning and Development, where she led diversity and inclusion, the development of the Kingdom’s sports enterprises, and strategic partnerships. In October 2019, the Kingdom held its very first Women’s Football League games, with 24 teams from all over Saudi Arabia competing for the honor of being the first side to take home the spoils of victory. At the end of the 2020-2019 season, the Jeddah Eagles won the first Jeddah Women’s League championships and this team occupies first place with 24 points during the current edition. Young girls may be accustomed to playing certain games, but certainly not including football. However, the young Farah Jefry, 18 years old, who started playing football a decade ago, was only interested in this «round witch.» Farah has a European style talent as revealed by her play in the Jeddah league. She is predicted to have a brilliant future in women›s football which will benefit the Kingdom. For Farah, football is “football is not only a sport to me, it is also my way of life,” she told Majalla in an exclusive interview. “I think in order for people to understand how I fell in love with the game, they need to know a bit about my background.” “To start off, I lived with my cousins and, for me, it was
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A file photo of Saudi football player Farah Jefry
completely normal to play football every day. Additionally, my dad is a huge football fan, which was one of the main reasons why I used to watch plenty of games when I was younger. In other words, playing with my cousins around the house was my normal lifestyle until I was almost 15. It was then that I finally joined my first official club, the ‘Jeddah Eagles,’” she added. Jefry also counts herself lucky to have a great support system in the form of her family and friends, and in this regard, she says: “My family and friends have been super supportive since the start of the journey. They saw how passionate I am towards this sport, and have always pushed me to work harder to reach my goals.” Regarding the prevailing custom that football is for men only, Farah replied: “I have heard plenty of opinions about how this is game is only meant for men not women. However, I do believe that at the end of the day this is a sport, just like any other sport, and it is meant for either gender.” Jefry told Majalla about the hardest part of the challenges and difficulties she faced: “Honestly speaking, my biggest
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“Football is not only a sport to me. It is also my way of life.” challenge was finding a team with the proper facilities to train seriously. Also, dealing with some people who believed that this sport is only for men. However, after Vision 2030 I can assure you that Saudi has been doing an amazing job providing us women with opportunities. We have been receiving a lot of attention, and this was evident in our women’s football league.” There is always a role model in the life of any player, a person in whose footsteps he/she seeks to follow. For Farah, it is the Belgian Kevin de Bruyne, Manchester City star, the “maestro” of midfield attacking. De Bruyne is not only Farah’s favorite player, but it is also the title given to her by her friends and team coach, because
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of the similarity of her playing style with that of the Belgian star. Farah dreams that she will have a professional experience in Europe: “I would love to be able to play professionally with Man City,” she told Majalla. In describing her feelings when she was called to join the national team, Jefry told Majalla: “I felt nothing but pure joy and happiness. I have dreamt of representing my country for years. Therefore, being called up to join the national team and wear the Saudi shirt was a defining moment in my career. It was an unforgettable experience that I believe will always push me to strive more.”
“My family and friends have been super supportive since the start of the journey.»
Recently, Adidas introduced the evolution of its longstanding brand attitude “Impossible Is Nothing.” The brand ethos is about rebellious optimism, rooted in the purpose of Adidas and the power of sports to change lives. In line with this, the Jeddah Eagles midfielder addressed the pursuit of her life-long passion, football, and shared her journey from joining the Jeddah Eagles club in 2017 to competing in Saudi Arabia’s first women’s football league, and finishing as the league’s top goal scorer. Her feeling about that: “It is an honor for me to be representing such a strong internationally known company. I am more than proud to be the first Saudi female footballer who signed with Adidas, and that would hopefully pave the way for the future generations of Saudi females.” Jefry told Majalla. Jefry has advice for Saudi girls who want to be part of what she calls a “beautiful journey”: “It is indeed a beautiful journey, full of crazy opportunities and challenges. I would advise every female to pursue her dream no matter the hardships. If you truly love what you do, then the sacrifices are all worth it.”
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A file photo of Saudi football player Farah Jefry
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“Pandemic Posture” Hurting Your Back? You Can Fix It ! Poor Posture Can Result in Nerve Irritation at Pressure Points Which Can be Painful By Heidi Godman Here’s what to do if you’ve developed back pain from poor posture habits picked up in the last year.
We asked Dr. David Binder, a physiatrist and director of innovation at Harvard-affiliated Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, about this phenomenon and what to do if you’re experiencing it.
Move over, “Quarantine 15.” That term, coined for pandemic-era weight gain, isn’t the only catchy phrase from this challenging time. Now there’s “pandemic posture,” referring to poor posture from slouching at a desk or on a couch during time at home -- and it brings lots of back pain complaints with it.
Q. Is “pandemic posture” real? Dr. Binder: Yes, we have seen increased complaints of neck and lower back pain in the last year, often in the context of sitting for extended periods of time with increased work at home. Many people don’t have the same facilities or workstations that
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they have in an office setting, which has created poor posture. Or maybe they’re spending too much time in a comfortable chair or on the couch. Q. Why does poor posture cause back pain? Dr. Binder: Holding any posture for a long period of time, whether it’s standing or sitting, sometimes increases discomfort because of muscle spasms or muscle fatigue. Having poor posture may also put increased pressure on certain joints or produce an imbalance on one side of your body that bears an increased load compared with the opposite side. Additionally, poor posture can result in nerve irritation at pressure points such as the buttocks or tailbone, which can be painful. Q. What do you recommend for people who want to reduce back pain from poor posture? Dr. Binder: It’s helpful to exercise every day with a wellrounded routine that includes a warm-up, aerobic exercise, a cool-down, and general muscle stretching. This will keep your muscles strong and flexible. Photo credit: (TNS)
Sometimes working with a physical therapist is useful as well. A therapist can help you understand the mechanics of how to sit up straight, with your back arched and your shoulders back and down. The therapist can also train you to strengthen and stretch the muscles that help you sit up straight. Those include your abdominal, back, shoulder, neck, and chest muscles. (Note: If you have medical conditions, check with your doctor before starting a physical exercise program.) Move of the month: child’s pose Get on your hands and knees. Keep your hands flat on the floor in front of you, exhale, then lower your buttocks backward until they rest on your heels and feet. Lower your forehead to the floor and extend your arms in front of you, hands still flat on the floor. Hold, then inhale as you come back up.
Photo credit: (TNS)
Q. Would improving a home workstation also help?
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Now there’s “pandemic posture,” referring to poor posture from slouching at a desk or on a couch during time at home -- and it brings lots of back pain complaints with it. Dr. Binder: Absolutely. Use a chair with lots of cushioning for the buttocks and support for your lower back. Sometimes using a footrest helps you feel more comfortable and takes a little load off your back. A footrest is especially helpful for people who are a bit shorter, so they can keep their knees at an optimal angle -- approximately 90°. Other workstation tips would be raising your computer monitor to eye level, so you won’t have to look down all the time and put pressure on your neck, and using an ergonomic mouse and wrist pad to cut down on wrist, arm, and shoulder discomfort -- which can lead to pain in the shoulder, shoulder blade, or neck. But watch out if you use a standing desk, which allows you to stand while working. Standing for long periods can worsen back pain. Q. What else helps? Dr. Binder: Set a timer to get up from your desk -- or couch or chair -- and move around every 20 minutes. This will keep you from being in one position for extended periods of time. Getting up will also give your spine a break from the pressure of sitting and keep your muscles from getting too tight. And of course, staying active throughout the day is also important for many other aspects of health; sitting too much is associated with chronic disease and even premature death. This article was originally published on (TNS).
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Ons Jabeur: Tunisia’s Minister of Happiness By Majalla Illustration by Jeannette Khouri The Minister of Happiness, the Icon of Arab Tennis, and the African Tennis Ambassador are all names of a Tunisian star who, with a lot of will, determination, hard work and perseverance, was able to enter the history of world tennis through the big door with achievements that Tunisian, Arab and African tennis may wait years and years to bring back or repeat. Amid a turbulent political atmosphere in Tunisia, Ons Jabeur gave her countrymen a “reason to smile” and proved to everyone, that an Arab female player could break into the top 10 in singles. Jabeur didn’t have an easy path at all to reach this spot; “I’ve been rejected by sponsors because of where I come from, which is so not fair. I didn’t understand why before. I accepted it. I dealt with it. I am really proud of the person I became today, just not relying on others.” she said. The Tunisian player jumped 6 places at once in the latest world tennis rankings when she reached eighth position in the world rankings, which is the best ranking in her career and in the history of Arab tennis, both at the level of women and men. This historic and global achievement for the Tunisian champion comes after her recent brilliance in the American Indian Wells Championship and reaching the semi-finals. Jabeur reached the Chicago final earlier this month and became the first Arab player to win a WTA title when she won the Birmingham title in June.
EARLY START FOR A CHAMPION’S JOURNEY At the age of three, the first contact between Ons’ fingers with the yellow ball began when her mother’s tennis coach Samira Hashafi Al-Hawi entrusted her with the task of collecting the balls. At the age of six, she began playing the game within the “Tennis” club in Hammam Sousse, in the governorate of Sousse on the Mediterranean coast, under the supervision of Coach Nabil Malika. As a junior, Jabeur also represented Tunisia at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, winning two singles matches and one doubles match, the latter with Romanian Cristina Dinu. She was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Chinese player Zheng Saisai in both competitions. Jabeur also represented Tunisia in singles at the London Olympic Games in 2012, the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016, and the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. Her biggest success in the junior category was winning the girls’ singles title at the 2011 French Open, having lost in the final of the same tournament one year earlier. Jabeur builds her style of play around variety and hitting what she refers to as “crazy shots”. She tries to employ difficult shots because that is how she enjoys playing tennis. She likes to utilize slice and drop shots in particular. Jabeur likes to play on any surface. Twenty-seven year old Ons (born on August 28, 1994) won eleven singles titles and one doubles title in the ITF women’s tournaments, and in September 2019 she reached her highest Singles rank-
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ing at No. 51 globally, and in May of the same year she reached No. 241 in the Doubles rankings. Jabeur was one of 12 players who received an International Player Grand Slam Grant from the Grand Slam Development Fund in 2017 immediately before the French Open, where she won her first two career Grand Slam main-draw matches. She was endorsed by Qatar Airways in 2020. In 2018, she reached the final of the Kremlin Cup in Russia, and was the first Arab player to reach the final in the WTA tournaments. Jabeur won the 2019 Arab Women of the Year award in the sport category, having reached the third round of the US Open and established herself as a permanent fixture in the top 100 that year. Jabeur is married to Karim Kamoun, a RussianTunisian former fencer who has also served as her fitness coach since mid-2017. She is fluent in Arabic, English, and French, and is learning Russian as her husband speaks the language. A new victory for Ons not only opened the doors for her to be among the top 10 in the world, but coincided with a new number, topping the ranking of the players who achieved the most victories in 2021 with 47 victories, in addition to occupying eighth place in the women’s final round race with 2845 points, surpassing Japanese Naomi Osaka in The Final Masters Round Finals (a tournament held at the end of each season with the participation of the eight top-ranked champions and organized by the World Tennis Association). The WTA has announced that the Mexican city of Guadalajara will host this year’s WTA Finals.