basketball THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAIT markets Pages 15 & 16 Established in 1977 / www.arabtimesonline.com Page 9 TUESDAY, MAY 25, 2021 / SHAWWAL 13, 1442 AH emergency number 112 NO. 17696 16 PAGES 150 FILS LEADERS ASK IF U.S. STILL COMMITTED TO REGION Here for now ... gone tomorrow? Marine general fears China, Russia inroads RIYADH, May 24, (AP): As the United States scales back its military pres- the region said Sunday. Marine Gen. Frank McKen- ence across the Middle East to focus on great power competition with Chi- While traveling through the Middle East over the past week, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, zie, top US commander for the who heads U.S. Central Command, fielded a persistent question from the military and political Middle East, speaks to report- na and Russia, it risks giving those two countries a chance to fill the gap ers traveling with him in Riyadh, leaders he met: Is the U.S. still committed to their country and the region, and what more sup- Saudi Arabia, May 23. (AP) and expand their influence around the Gulf, the top U.S. commander for port can they get. From the dusty battlefields in Syria to the rocket-pummeled neighborhoods in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, they worry that America’s pivot to Asia means they will be left without the troops, ships, aircraft and other Opinion military aid they need to battle Iranian-backed militant groups attacking their people. And if the U.S. is slow to re- spond, they may look elsewhere for help. The inevitable Lebanese trio of ruins “The Middle East writ broadly is an area of intense competi- tion between the great powers. By Ahmed Al-Jarallah And I think that as we adjust our posture in the region, Russia Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times and China will be looking very IT is unprecedented in the history of closely to see if a vacuum opens Lebanon that a president has failed in that they can exploit,” McKen- carrying out the task for which he was zie told reporters traveling with elected, which is to be “the arbiter and him. “I think they see the United trustee of the constitution and institu- States shifting posture to look at tions”. He is thus embarrassed by the other parts of the world and they Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, sense there may be an opportu- and the House of Representatives, nity there.” with its absolute majority, sent him Speaking in his hotel room af- an indirect message of him becom- ter meeting with Saudi officials, ing “ineffective” by virtue. This led to McKenzie said weapons sales doubts about his popular legitimacy. would be one need that Moscow Despite all the Arab observations, and Beijing could exploit. Rus- particularly of the Gulf, regarding sia, he said, tries to sell air de- the performance of the Aoun-Bassil fense systems and other weapons era, the reality that Prime Minister to whomever it can, and China Hariri put before the people first and has a long-term goal to expand then before the representatives is that its economic power and ultimate- “the president of the republic wants ly establish military bases in the to change the constitution without amending”, paving the way to doing region. whatever he wants, to suspend the In the few short months since constitution, disrupt political life in the President Joe Biden took office, country, and more seriously, disrupt he has ordered the full with- any hope for the Lebanese to contain drawal of U.S. troops from Af- and curb the miserable downfall they ghanistan and begun to review are enduring as a nation. America’s force presence in Iraq, This forces the Lebanese to ponder Syria and around the globe. His over what the fate of their country administration is cutting U.S. will be if they do not lose control of military support for the Saudi-led the real disruption, which is Hezbol- offensive against Iranian-back lah, in an effort to make Aoun’s son- Houthi rebels in Yemen, and in-law the president of the republic, the Pentagon has moved ships, so that he will continue to dominate forces and weapons systems out Lebanon through a weak system of of other Middle East countries. government that facilitates impunity for him for his terrorizing interfer- Dispatched ences in Arab countries. At the same time, however, In addition, such a move will allow Biden this month dispatched Lebanon to continue being a source senior administration officials for smuggling drugs, the latest of to the Gulf region to reassure which is the huge quantity exported nervous allies as the U.S. looks to Egypt after the Gulf states thwart- Mofeed Sabit, 64, sits on a couch along a road covered in debris from an airstrike that destroyed a building prior to a cease-fire reached after an 11-day war to reopen talks with Iran on the ed his plan to destroy their youth with between Gaza’s Hamas rulers and Israel, May 24, in Magazzi, the Gaza Strip. (AP) 2015 nuclear deal, which for- this scourge. mer President Donald Trump Indeed, the Lebanese must realize scrapped three years ago. well, after such a great turning point The effort to restart talks with that Saad Hariri made in his resound- Iran triggers worries in a number ing speech in the House of Represen- Ten COVID-19 Newswatch Day by Day of Middle East nations who rely tatives, that turning back becomes on the U.S. to maintain pressure impossible if they eliminate their fear on Tehran and its campaigns to of the nightmare of the civil war that dead Sunday fund and supply weapons to mili- the beneficiaries continue to market WHEN people demand accountability from of- KUWAIT CITY: His Highness the gear near a government labor of- ficials this is not limited to theft of public mon- tant groups in the region. while the country spirals out of con- KUWAIT CITY, May 24, Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad fi ce in the city, some 200 kilom- ey, bribery or corruption but also from those trol and turns into total chaos. But there is ongoing discussion (KUNA): Kuwait on Sunday de- Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Monday eters (125 miles) northwest of the who intentionally harm state administration within the Pentagon about sending The struggle today is no longer be- clared 992 new coronavirus in- addressed cables of condolences capital, Muscat. and those who fail to satisfactorily perform tween two political currents, or a dis- Other images appear to show more assets to the Pacific to fight fections, 1,166 recoveries and to UAE President Sheikh Khal- their tasks or fail to manage the institutions. a rising China. And U.S. military pute over a ministry... Rather it is be- 10 deaths over the past 24 hours, ifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Omanis fl eeing smoking tear gas Accountability begins when people show tween the absolute evil represented by canisters and others being ar- commanders around the globe, Spokesman for the Ministry of Member of the Supreme Council their anger and rumors abound because the including McKenzie, may lose the Aoun-Bassil faction, and the good and Ruler of Umm Al-Quwain rested by nightstick-wielding riot truth is hidden in a veil of secrecy to the ex- Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Sanad said. police. The images correspond to troops and resources as a result. that the honorable people of Lebanon The new figures increased the Sheikh Saud bin Rashed Al- tent it becomes crystal clear that those who seek, or at least stability through which Mualla on the demise of Sheikha known landmarks around Sohar, do not have the ability to work responsibly Those could include warships such the people can catch their breath in death toll to 1,734, overall infec- the fi rst major city people enter as the aircraft carrier now sitting in tions to 299,215 and recoveries Shamsa bint Majed. must leave the scene. order to return to the nature that was His Highness the Crown in the sultanate after crossing the … Yet, tomorrow is just another day. the Gulf, providing security for the to 285,118, he told KUNA. border from neighboring United known to them since eternity. Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ah- Zahed Matar Afghanistan withdrawal. Aoun’s practices did not stop at the The ratio between the total re- mad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah also Arab Emirates. The Biden administration limits of disrupting state institutions. coveries and infections hit 95.28 sent cables of similar content to Other videos showed demon- views China’s rapidly expanding Rather, the president of the republic percent, he noted. There are 153 pa- the UAE President and Umm Al- strators in Salalah, a city some economic influence and military never deliberately cut the threads of tients at the intensive care units, while Quwain Ruler. 850 kilometers (525 miles) might as America’s primary long- Lebanon with its Arab surroundings, 12,363 others are receiving treatment For his part, His Highness southwest of Muscat. (AP) Iran agrees to extend term security challenge. Officials even at the height of the civil war, like at the hospitals’ wards, he pointed out. Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah ❑ ❑ ❑ believe the U.S. must be more what the current president did and his As many as 8,396 medical Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah MANAMA: Bahrain’s Civil accord on N-cameras ready to counter threats to Taiwan attack on the Gulf states, especially swabs were conducted in the sent a couple of cables to the Aviation Affairs (CAA) on Sun- and China’s development of mili- Saudi Arabia, the sponsor of the Taif same period, taking the total tests UAE President and Umm Al- day announced the suspension of VIENNA, May 24, (AP): Iran and the U.N.’s tary outposts on manmade islands Accord to restore the installation of to 2,525,643, he stated.