BEIRUT: When the Choctaw County, a fast transport ship, pulled into Beirut on Sept. 21 for the first-ever US Navy port visit to Lebanon, the messaging from the Navy was all about improving the military-to-military relations between the two countries. But for analysts watching the situation in Lebanon closely, the timing signals more than just military friendliness. Coming in the middle of unprecedented economic and political pressures facing Beirut, analysts say the arrival of the ship is also a signal of support for the flailing Lebanese government and particularly its military. Officially, the visit is about “ushering in a new era of strengthening and expanding capacity building across the region,” as Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of NAVCENT, US 5th Fleet, and combined Maritime Forces, said in a statement. A statement from the American embassy added that the port visit comes alongside “subject matter expert exchanges between the LAF Navy and NAVCENT personnel c
2020 Editor s Picks: Clips In Support Of Peace In The Middle East
December 29, 2020
The following is a collection of MEMRI TV clips expressing support for the 2020 Middle East peace initiatives. Producing such content is very costly, and your help allows us to continue our vital work of supporting counterterrorism efforts in the U.S. and throughout the West. We are very grateful to those of our valued readers who have already donated this year, and ask those who have not yet done so to please consider making a tax-deductible donation now.
This year MEMRI produced dozens of reports and clips on reactions in the Middle East and South Asia to the historic Abraham Accords Peace Agreement normalizing relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. These reactions, from these countries as well as from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iran, Egypt, Yemen, Pakistan, and Palestine, as well as from ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hizbullah, Hamas, and Fatah, r