U.S. officials provided Taliban with names of Americans, Afghan allies to evacuate

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By LARA SELIGMAN, ALEXANDER WARD and ANDREW DESIDERIO  - politico -- U.S. officials in Kabul gave the Taliban a list of names of American citizens, green card holders and Afghan allies to grant entry into the militant-controlled outer perimeter of the city’s airport, a choice that's prompted outrage behind the scenes from lawmakers and military officials. The move, detailed to POLITICO by three U.S. and congressional officials, was designed to expedite the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan as chaos erupted in Afghanistan’s capital city last week after the Taliban seized control of the country. It also came as the Biden administration has been relying on the Taliban for security outside the airport.

Since the fall of Kabul in mid-August, nearly 100,000 people have been evacuated, most of whom had to pass through the Taliban's many checkpoints. But the decision to provide specific names to the Taliban, which has a history of brutally murdering Afghans who collaborated with the U.S. and other coalition forces during the conflict, has angered lawmakers and military officials. “Basically, they just put all those Afghans on a kill list,” said one defense official, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic. “It’s just appalling and shocking and makes you feel unclean.” Asked about POLITICO's reporting during a Thursday news conference, President Joe Biden said he wasn't sure there were such lists, but also didn't deny that sometimes the U.S. hands over names to the Taliban. "There have been occasions when our military has contacted their military counterparts in the Taliban and said this, for example, this bus is coming through with X number of people on it, made up of the following group of people. We want you to let that bus or that group through," he said. "So, yes there have been occasions like that. To the best of my knowledge, in those cases, the bulk of that has occurred and they have been let through. "I can't tell you with any certitude that there's actually been a list of names," he added. "There may have been. But I know of no circumstance. It doesn't mean that it doesn't exist, that here's the names of 12 people, they're coming, let them through. It could very well have happened."

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EU worried at Lebanon’s fast deterioration, says time has run out

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by reuters -- BEIRUT: The European Union is deeply concerned at the rapid deterioration of the crisis in Lebanon, its ambassador to Beirut said on Thursday, telling Lebanese leaders the time for action had run out and urging them to form a government. It reflects growing worry about a sharp deterioration of the situation in Lebanon, where a two-year-long financial meltdown hit a crunch point this month as fuel shortages paralyzed much of the country, sparking chaos and numerous security incidents. “We feel extreme concern about the rapid deterioration of the economic, financial, security and social crisis,” Ambassador Ralph Tarraf said after meeting President Michel Aoun, carrying an urgent message from EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

The EU continues to provide substantial aid to the Lebanese people, he said, but Lebanese decision-makers — who have failed to agree on a new government for a year — needed to live up to their responsibilities. “There is no more time,” he said in remarks delivered in Arabic. Last week, an international support group including France and the United States said the “fast-accelerating crisis underscores the utmost urgency of forming a government capable of taking the situation in hand.” The crisis has sunk the currency by more than 90 percent, forced more than half of Lebanese into poverty and frozen depositors out of their accounts. The World Bank has called it one of the sharpest depressions in modern times.

Infographic: Lebanon is about to run out of water

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Addressing the Drug Shortage in Lebanon

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by armenianweekly.com -- Tsoler Aghjian -- It was only a couple of years ago when my career as a pharmacist wasn’t of major importance to the Lebanese people. I was seen as an employee in a community pharmacy dispensing prescribed drugs and recommending some over-the-counter drugs to treat minor illnesses. However, after almost two years of tragedies that undermined the economy of this tiny Mediterranean country, things have changed radically. I am now the acquaintance that people rely on to make the needed drug available despite the overwhelming shortage in supply.

Since the October 2019 revolution in Lebanon, the hidden failures of 30-year-old corrupt economic policies have become gradually tangible. The Lebanese lira started to lose its worth against the US dollar in the black market, and it is now worth 13 times less. These dramatic changes in the economy took their toll on the health sector as well, leaving the drug importing companies desperate to find foreign currency to be able to buy the stock demanded by the Lebanese market. To overcome the currency issue in the drug supply, the government had adopted a subsidy policy which obliges the Central Bank to provide the drug importers with the foreign currencies from the national savings at the official low rate so that the drugs can be categorized as “supported” products and sold to the people at their original low prices. However, this solution was never a sustainable one. The drug prices remained unchanged for a year or so, but now that the Central Bank’s resources are depleted, drugs can no longer be sold at low prices.

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Lebanese politicians look for handouts instead of reforms

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By MENASource Paul Gadalla --- In his latest speech on August 15, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, declared that his country is already “amid the collapse.” And, indeed, he might very well be right. Lebanon has fully lifted fuel subsidies, plunging many homes into darkness as many of the country’s residents rely on diesel generators to power their homes. Hospitals are struggling to keep the lights on while flour mills cease operation, spurring fears of a bread shortage. Pharmacies can barely stock medicines while the COVID-19 pandemic continues. One would think that such a bleak situation would push Lebanese politicians into forming a technocratic government capable of at least passing some reforms to save the country from the brink of collapse. But therein lies the problem: any reforms would rob Lebanon’s sectarian oligarchs of their power. Thus, Lebanese politicians are allowing for Lebanon’s collapse while hoping for as much international aid as possible with as little strings attached.

Since the end of the Lebanese civil war in 1990, there have been large international conferences to help bail out the country from its chronic economic problems. After fifteen years of civil war and conflicts with Israel, this was done in the hopes of keeping Lebanon together, as no one wished to see the country become a regional arena of strife again. In a report published in February by the London School of Economics, it is estimated that the $170 billion in financial assistance given to Lebanon by its various supporters since the end of its fifteen-year civil war is greater than the amount of aid given to countries under the Marshall Plan (adjusted for inflation). Yet, thanks to corruption, much of this money was misspent or stolen, leaving Lebanon heavily indebted and still with poor infrastructure. Even money meant for Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has been misappropriated.

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Lebanese hospitals at breaking point as everything runs out

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BEIRUT (AP) — Drenched in sweat, doctors check patients lying on stretchers in the reception area of Lebanon’s largest public hospital. Air conditioners are turned off, except in operating rooms and storage units, to save on fuel. Medics scramble to find alternatives to saline solutions after the hospital ran out. The shortages are overwhelming, the medical staff exhausted. And with a new surge in coronavirus cases, Lebanon’s hospitals are at a breaking point. The country’s health sector is a casualty of the multiple crises that have plunged Lebanon into a downward spiral — a financial and economic meltdown, compounded by a complete failure of the government, runaway corruption and a pandemic that isn’t going away. The collapse is all the more dramatic since only a few years ago, Lebanon was a leader in medical care in the Arab world. The region’s rich and famous came to this small Mideast nation of 6 million for everything, from major hospital procedures to plastic surgeries.

 THE NEW NORMAL

Ghaidaa al-Saddik, a second-year resident, had just returned from a week off after an exhausting year. Back on duty for a week, she has already intubated two critical patients in the emergency room, both in their 30s. She struggles to admit new patients, knowing how short on supplies the hospital is, scared to be blamed for mistakes and questioning if she is doing her best. Many patients are asked to bring their own medicines, such as steroids. Others are discharged too soon — often to homes where power outages last for days. “You feel like you are trapped,” said al-Saddik. The 28-year-old spends more nights in the staff dorms studying because at home, she has no electricity. She moved to an apartment closer to the hospital that she shares with two other people to save on rent and transportation. With the collapse of Lebanon’s currency amid the crisis, her salary has lost nearly 90% of its value. With fewer and fewer residents, she must now do the rounds for about 30 patients, instead of 10. Her mentor, a senior virologist, has left Lebanon — one of many in a brain drain of medical professionals. “I want to help my people,” she said. “But at the same time, what about me being a better doctor?” ___

RUNNING ON EMPTY

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