Hezbollah official meets Jumblatt over article row
Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa has met Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt following a controversial...
Thursday, 5 March 2015
Kaag: Hezbollah’s Shebaa raid violated Resolution 1701
BEIRUT: Contrary to the Lebanese government’s position, the United Nations believes that Hezbollah violated Security Council Resolution 1701 when it attacked an Israeli convoy in the Shebaa Farms last month, a high-ranking U.N. official told The Daily Star.
Hezbollah’s launching of anti-tank missiles from Lebanon, which resulted in the death of two Israeli soldiers, “constitutes a serious violation of the cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel,” said Sigrid Kaag, the United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon.
But Lebanese officials from both political coalitions insist Hezbollah did not in fact breach the resolution.
Kaag spoke with Hezbollah during and after the crisis in January and the party told her that the attack on the Israeli convoy was “a carefully calibrated operation” that did not violate Resolution 1701.
She added that the most recent Security Council report on the implementation of 1701 which has not yet been made fully public addresses violations by both Hezbollah and Israel of the resolution.
The report states that an investigation by UNIFIL found that the Israeli army had fired 20 white phosphorous mortar shells into Lebanon.
Despite repeatedly claiming that the Israeli army will discontinue the use of white phosphorus, which is restricted by international law, the toxic gas is apparently still in use.
There is mounting concern that hostile language, “posturing, incidents or accidents” may inadvertently lead to a renewed conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, Kaag said.
The international community has taken a “renewed interest” in Resolution 1701 and will “look at opportunities where progress may be possible or rather should happen,” Kaag said.
She refused to specify, however, whether she would lobby for an official designation of the Shebaa Farms, which the U.N. claims is a disputed territory.
When asked whether she would push for Israel’s withdrawal from the Lebanese village of Ghajar, Kaag replied that “stability” is valued by the parties involved.
Israel has occupied the entire village, half of which lies in Lebanese territory, since 2000. The United Nations has repeatedly urged the Israeli government to withdraw its troops from the village.
But Kaag suggested that liberation was unlikely, at least for now, in order to maintain calm along the border.
Kaag, who assumed the position of special coordinator in mid-January, said that the situation along Lebanon’s southern border figured among the topics she discussed with Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby on a trip to Cairo earlier this week.
“Obviously I wanted to have Dr. Nabil Elaraby’s take on the situation both on the south [and] eastern borders, a broader perspective so to speak,” Kaag told The Daily Star.
The international community must continue to play an important role in helping Lebanon maintain stability, Kaag stressed.
At the Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria, which will be held in Kuwait at the end of this month, Kaag will seek to “put Lebanon on the map again.”
As the crisis enters its fifth year, “donor fatigue” is a serious concern, Kaag said, but Lebanon urgently needs international support to help manage the refugee crisis, which has had an adverse effect on the country’s economy and stability.
Moreover, if Syrian refugees are pushed to desperation some may follow “the path to radicalization and extremism.”
International institutions are looking into new ways to keep Lebanon afloat financially, Kaag added. As a middle-income country with generally high social and development indicators but struggling with a refugee influx, the “financial architecture” of institutions like the World Bank needs to be flexible, she said.
Echoing statements made by U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, Kaag condemned the participation of Lebanese citizens in the Syrian conflict. There is “tremendous concern” that the Syrian conflict might further spill over into Lebanon, she added.
The presidential vacuum, she said “normalizes an erosion of the institutions as forseen by the Constitution and also by [the] Taif [Accord] ... [which] cannot be good for Lebanon’s interests in the mid term or long term.”
Events aplenty, but little progress for women’s rights
BEIRUT: Campaigns to highlight the dearth of women’s rights abound ahead of International Women’s Day, but experts said significant improvements to the status of women in Lebanon are still far off. It’s not enough to simply underline the issue ahead of the designated day, which falls on March 8, to achieve breakthroughs in issues hindering the advancement of Lebanese women, activists say.
In Lebanon in particular, the day is meant to pay respect to women who have fallen victim to domestic abuse, those who cannot bequeath their nationality to their children or those unable to legally marry outside of their religion.
The plethora of events has included a conference entitled “Women on the Front Lines” by the May Chidiac Foundation Wednesday. The international day will also be observed Friday at the Lebanese American University by the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World, which will launch a national campaign “Look Where We Still Are,” aiming to adjust discriminatory laws.
“What women need is more than just events held by organizations,” said Manar Zeaiter, a lawyer and activist with the Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering, adding that the urge to see real political change must be matched with long-term strategies to see it through.
“We don’t act haphazardly; our work is based on existing realities.”
Current laws, according to Zeaiter, continue to hamper the rights of Lebanese women, including the citizenship and personal status laws. The former does not permit a Lebanese woman married to a foreign national to pass on her nationality to her children or husband.
Human Rights Watch released a report in January emphasizing that personal status laws, which are confession-based, are inherently discriminatory against women, limiting their rights in areas such as divorce and child care, for example.
Lebanon is among the states that ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly.
Lebanon ratified the convention but altered articles – namely Article 9, paragraph 2 and Article 16 paragraph 1 – relating to equal nationality rights and adopting measures to eliminate discrimination against women in matters related to the family and marriage. The amendments caused an uproar among Lebanese women’s rights advocates who are to this day engaged in efforts to reverse them.
But 2014 was still considered a year of progress in the arena of women’s rights, as Law 293, known as the Protection of Women and Family Against Domestic Violence, was approved after a lengthy battle. Maternity leave has also been lengthened, from 49 to 70 days.
There remains much more to accomplish, said Caroline Succar Slaiby, the vice president of the Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering. The struggle for women’s rights shouldn’t be limited to the March 8 international day alone.
“Lobbying [for women’s rights] should be all year round,” Slaiby said, adding that persistent activism must put pressure on society to change. “Everyone is working, but we are in need of more lobby associations to press demands.”
Zeina Maalouf, assistant administrative director at the National Commission for Lebanese Women, said designating a special day to commemorate women was vital to raise awareness about women’s issues.
“This is an international day, so of course people want to highlight it,” Maalouf said.
“The number of people [engaged with women’s rights issues] has increased and this is a good sign. If there wasn’t a need then this number wouldn’t have increased,” she said, praising the work of women’s rights organizations.
She stressed that work is taking place on the ground to advance women’s rights but admitted more needed to be done.
“It’s not enough to work during the week [before International Women’s Day]. One needs to work all year round,” she said. “Let’s be realistic, what has been ingrained for years will not be eradicated quickly.”
Women’s rights do not only relate to changing discriminatory laws, she said, but also reversing counterproductive mindsets. To this day, some women themselves don’t believe in their abilities, which can stall the work of activists, she added.
In a report released by the World Economic Forum in October 2014 Lebanon was ranked the 8th worst country when it came to gender equality and the second worst for women’s participation in politics.
In Prime Minister Tammam Salam’s current government, there is only one female, Alice Shabtini, the minister for the displaced.
As for Parliament, among the 128 lawmakers there are only four female MPs: March 14 MPs Bahia Hariri, Strida Geagea, Nayla Tueni and Free Patriotic Movement MP Gilberte Zwein.
Though Lebanon did not formally amend CEDAW articles relating to discrimination against women in public and political life, a report released by NCLW demonstrated that the number of female candidates running for the legislature decreased from 14 in 2005 to 12 in 2009. Though the number of candidates increased to 38 in 2013, elections were not held as Parliament’s mandate was extended.
Political parties could be a starting point to lobby for more female representation in public life, experts agreed. Slaiby, for instance, was critical of Lebanese politicians who use the excuse of a lack of stability as a pretext for not giving women’s issues more attention. Political parties, she said, play an important role in enhancing the women’s participation in civic life.
“They are the ones that allow women to participate in politics,” she said. “Female party members can then act as the link between the parties they represent and society.”
Mixed couples face widespread discrimination
EBRIN, Lebanon: Claude and Seble smile mischievously as they recount how they met five years ago. Husband and wife, they sit on the couch in their home in the quaint town of Ebrin, Batroun, overlooking the sea, and exchange a sly look as the question is raised. They are murky on the details.
It all started one night in Djibouti. Seble was on vacation from her native Ethiopia, and Claude had moved to the country from Lebanon to get a job as a metal worker. “We were both out on the town,” Seble begins. “And I wanted a tattoo ... ”
“And I do tattoos,” Claude interjected, before they both began to giggle. “And we got married, and that’s it!”
They married one year later at a church in Lebanon, where they now reside with their two children. But they have had to overcome many hurdles to their union.
Like most interracial couples in the country, Seble and Claude consistently experience discrimination, whether in public, from institutions, and sometimes even within their own families and social circles.
Seble had heard of the discrimination against African migrants in Lebanon, and was petrified before she came. Unfortunately, her experiences here have confirmed some of her worst fears. She recalled a trip to a restaurant where she and Claude bumped into a friend of his mother.
“She said to my husband, ‘You’re bringing an Ethiopian to a restaurant!’ She was shocked,” Seble said. “He told her that I’m his wife and these are our kids. She said, ‘Do you speak Arabic?’ ... I didn’t say anything. She said, ‘You, speak!’”
Nisreen Kaj, a researcher on “Mixed Feelings,” a project which examines mixed identities and mixed families in Lebanon, said she has noticed two common themes during her research on the discrimination faced by interracial couples.
“They face a lot of discrimination in two areas: in the family and in public,” Kaj told The Daily Star.
She explained that familial discrimination can manifest itself in several ways when a Lebanese man enters an interracial marriage. The family may ostracize their son as a punishment, or may keep their feelings concealed, but implicitly offend and isolate his spouse.
Kaj added that many only accept the arrangement once there are children involved.
Luckily, Claude’s family was very welcoming of Seble.
“I wasn’t expecting [his family to be so welcoming],” Seble said. “You hear about Lebanon, how they kill Africans etc. I didn’t expect his mother to say, ‘Welcome home!’ when I arrived.”
But most families are not so accepting. Addis, an Ethiopian friend of Seble’s who married a Lebanese man, said her husband’s family has never accepted their relationship.
“When we first got together his family didn’t accept it at all,” Addis said. “They wouldn’t talk to us until we had a child ... of course they love their grandson, he’s their blood.”
Neither Seble nor Addis have found any escape from the discrimination they encounter in the public sphere. Both detailed stories of people gawking at them, and mistreating or insulting them on the street.
“The public reaction to mixed heritage couples is just awful. I haven’t heard one positive thing,” Kaj said.
“[People] almost exclusively express unhappiness at mixed unions ... especially when they involve women from the African continent.”
Kaj added that many women in mixed marriages told her that people often think they are their husband’s “girlfriends,” implying that they are prostitutes.
The perception that an African woman walking alongside a Lebanese man must be a sex worker plays into larger Lebanese stereotypes of African women, stereotypes which are often perpetuated by the media, according to Kaj.
“[African women] are sexualized [by the media]. They’re [portrayed as being] overly sexual. They’re uneducated, dirty. They’re ruining the moral fabric of our society. This is another reason people don’t want their sons to marry these women.”
Furthermore, while having children can often end familial disputes over the marriage, having a child of mixed heritage in Lebanon presents its own series of problems.
Addis’ son was rejected from several kindergartens in Jounieh due to his mother’s race. “Just because I am black they wouldn’t let him in,” she lamented. “They don’t want the other kids to mix with him.”
“Some kindergartens accepted him, but then kept delaying the date on which he could register.”
Although Addis’ husband complained, he was told that pursuing the issue would be futile.
The severity of institutional racism indicates how deep-rooted the problem of discrimination is in Lebanon. Kaj noted that there is a lack of sensitivity training in Lebanese institutions, and no procedures are in place to report discrimination.
“[Discrimination exists] in the policing system, the educational system and across social systems,” she said. “[There is] no way to fight back against race-based discrimination, it just doesn’t exist.”
After 10 months of living in Lebanon, Seble decided to return to Ethiopia. She had had enough.
“The incidents piled up, things that you can’t forget. I was done. I told my husband, ‘Let’s go and live in Ethiopia,’” she recalled.
He eventually convinced her to come back to Lebanon. Since then, she has developed a number of coping mechanisms to deal with the racism. She has also found a source of refuge in the community.
By searching through Facebook for women with Ethiopian first names and Lebanese last names, Seble contacted and formed a small group of mothers – including Addis – who are in similar situations.
They meet up once or twice a month and are always in touch via their WhatsApp group.
She’s also learned how to deal with harassment on the street.
“Now, I know how to deal with those people. I don’t let them say whatever they want to me or treat me however they want,” Seble said. “I’m not scared of anyone.”
Hospitals deny refusing to treat infant as death shocks country
BEIRUT: Hospitals denied Thursday that they refused entry to a 4-month baby whose death over the weekend shook the country. The institutions in question, Al-Youssef Hospital and Rahhal Hospital in the district of Akkar, denied in a statement presented during a news conference that they contributed to the death of the infant, Abdel-Rauf Mounir al-Houli, who died over the weekend.
During the news conference, held by the head of the Association of Private Hospitals Sleiman Haroun, representatives from the Al-Youssef Hospital explained that on March 1 Abdel-Rauf’s father, Mounir Houli, arrived at the hospital at around 11 a.m. asking whether there were any beds available for his child, who was in the car at the time.
The hospital said that when the father was told no beds were available, he left without any fuss and without asking the emergency doctor to examine the child.
Houli then headed to the Rahhal Hospital, which is five minutes away from Al-Youssef. The hospital said in a statement that Houli had also asked whether there was space available for his child. The admissions employee had asked him to bring the child into the emergency room to be examined, but Houli refused when told there were no beds, according to the statement.
The statement said Houli left, stating that he didn’t want to take the infant to other hospitals because they were too far away.
The news conference came after a nurse from Al-Youssef Hospital and a receptionist from Rahhal Hospital were detained earlier this week for alleged misconduct, but were later released.
Health Minister Wael Abu Faour Monday has ordered an investigation into the death of Abdel Rauf.
Haroun, the head of the association, defended the hospital employees and decried their detention, saying that they had been proven to be innocent.
The death of Houli was the second recent case of an infant dying without treatment, after Inaam Eid, a 6-month-old girl from the Akkar town of Yebnine, died Tuesday. The girl’s parents say she was denied admission to Rahhal Hospital.
However, hospital officials dismissed the allegation, saying the infant was checked into the hospital and suffered from a high fever.
Salam takes tough line with Cabinet
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Tammam Salam was firm Thursday, telling ministers that he would no longer allow them to obstruct the Cabinet’s work, as the body resumed sessions after three weeks of paralysis.
Thursday’s Cabinet session was the first since Feb. 12, as tension among ministers over a decision-making mechanism prevented meetings from taking place.
During a three-hour meeting, the Cabinet approved a new mechanism aimed at speeding its work, replacing a method which had severely reduced its productivity over the past nine months.
Under the new system, regular decisions – particularly those affecting citizen’s daily lives – will be made by “consensus,” but will not necessarily require the consent of all 24 ministers, as was the case previously. Approval by the major parties represented in the Cabinet will now be enough to authorize such decisions, removing the veto power once held by a minority opposition.
With regard to Cabinet decrees – which would have required the president’s signature – after being signed by the prime minister, the relevant minister and the finance minister, they will be now be presented to the entire Cabinet for signature instead. If one or more ministers refuses to sign, the Constitution dictates that the decrees will still become effective after 15 days.
The new arrangement was reportedly contested by Amal Movement leader Nabih Berri. Berri reportedly told visitors that he wanted strict adherence to Article 65 of the Constitution, which dictates that only a simple majority vote from the Cabinet is necessary for regular decisions to pass.
“If voting happens, then we will adhere to the Constitution. Let’s wait and see,” Berri said.
The issue has been complicated by the lack of a president. Though the Constitution does only require a simple majority for such decisions, it also prioritizes “consensus.”
Addressing ministers at the outset of the session at the Grand Serail, Salam said that consensus-based decisions, as dictated under Article 65, remained the best option during the presidential vacuum. However, he said that the pursuit of such agreement must not lead to the government’s paralysis, and that he would show no leniency toward those who attempted to stall its work.
Salam added that when the presidential vacuum began last May, the parties represented in the Cabinet agreed that its decisions must be consensus-based. The prime minister also declared that the Cabinet’s one-year anniversary should serve as an occasion for the ministers to re-evaluate their work and draw lessons for the future, particularly in light of the exceptional circumstances caused by the vacant presidency.
Salam reiterated that a president must be elected as soon as possible.
There are additional guidelines for future Cabinet meetings as well. Under the new system, the length of each session will not exceed three hours, contrary to previous sessions which sometimes dragged on for up to seven.
Ministers will be asked to carefully study proposed legislation before the session, in order to save time during discussions, and to keep their comments short. A convincing reason must also be presented to postpone discussion of items on the agenda.
Ministers will also no longer be allowed to leave Cabinet meetings early in order to call party leaders or speak to reporters.
During Thursday’s meeting, which most ministers described as calm, the government approved five agenda items that had been stalled due to Cabinet’s hiatus.
Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil proposed appointments to the Banking Control Commission, but Salam asked him to contact various political parties to achieve consensus on the issue before he officially put forward the names.
Ministers added that as the session was restricted to three hours, the government was unable to reach all of the items on the agenda.
Salam closed the door to a side room which ministers had used for smoking, making phone calls and eating during the sessions. And unlike previous Cabinet meetings, no meal was served – ministers were served cookies instead.
Authorities arrest ‘Syrian ISIS commander’
BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities Thursday arrested a Syrian ISIS commander who took part in clashes with the Lebanese Army in the northeastern towns of Arsal and Ras Baalbek, the National News Agency reported.
NNA said a local police investigation unit arrested Hussein Ghorli, who was receiving treatment at a Bekaa Valley hospital for wounds sustained in clashes with the Lebanese Army in Ras Baalbek last week.
It added that the ISIS commander was involved in the deadly clashes with the Army in Arsal last August.
NNA described him as “one of the most dangerous ISIS militants” in the Syrian region of Qalamoun.
A security source told The Daily Star Ghorli had been admitted to Al-Manara Hospital in Hasbaya, West Bekaa, about 10 days ago.
NNA did not say whether the suspect had been placed under arrest at Al-Manara Hospital or moved to a police-protected wing at another hospital.
But a Syrian rebel source told The Daily Star that Ghorli, a Syrian national, is a member of the Nusra Front, not ISIS.
The source said Ghorli was critically wounded in the head on Feb. 23 during clashes between ISIS and Nusra Front militants on the outskirts of Ras Baalbek.
Ghorli was first smuggled to the underdeveloped Hamed Farhat Hospital in the west Bekaa town of Kamed al-Loz before being moved to the more advanced Al-Manar Hospital, the source said.
The Internal Security Forces did not release an official statement on the issue.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese Army pounded positions of jihadi militants on the outskirts of Arsal in what has become as a near-daily occurrence.
Separately, Prime Minister Tammam Salam chaired a meeting of a crisis cell tasked with negotiating the release of 25 Lebanese servicemen captured by ISIS and the Nusra Front last August during the Arsal battles.
Besides Salam, the cell comprises Defense Minister Samir Moqbel, General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, Health Minister Wael Abu Faour, Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil and Maj. Gen. Mohammad Khair, secretary-general of the Higher Defense Council.
Attendees tackled the latest developments in the case.
Negotiations to release the kidnapped policemen and Army soldiers have reportedly achieved progress recently. The captors are demanding the release of Islamist inmates in Roumieh prison in return for freeing the hostages. They have executed four of the captives so far.
'Zionist Union' Party Creates A Stir In Israeli Elections
The opposition to Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party in the Israeli elections calls itself the "Zionist Union" as it looks to claim the country's middle-ground voters.
Copyright © 2015 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
Copyright © 2015 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
Hezbollah: Netanyahu is a "fox in sheep’s clothing"
BEIRUT: Hezbollah denounced Thursday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the U.S. Congress as "disgusting" and "hostile" and warned of advancing Israeli interests at the expense of the American people.
“What is disgusting is that Netanyahu stood there like a fox in sheep's clothing, calling on Iran to stop its aggressions in the Middle East,” Hezbollah MP Hussein al-Moussawi said in a statement released by the party’s media office.
Moussawi described Netanyahu's speech as “rich in its hostility toward the Islamic Republic of Iran,” saying that it reflected the positions of “American Zionist lobby groups.”
Addressing the American people, the MP questioned how they could accept a Congress that clearly served Zionist interests and turned a blind eye to crimes against humanity committed by Israel. “More importantly, how can this population accept the fact that Israel’s interests are secured at the expense of the interests of American people?” he added.
The MP also criticized some Arab rulers, especially those in the Gulf, whom he claimed had made “a friend” out of Netanyahu due to their shared hostility towards Iran.
Netanyahu said in his speech to the U.S. Congress Tuesday that a nuclear deal would all but guarantee that Tehran obtains nuclear weapons.
Advertisement
Ladies first Women’s convention promotes equality in Lebanon
More work for women’s rights: Chidiac
Journalist May Chidiac Monday lauded the role played by women in the regional uprisings of recent years, but said much...
N. Lebanon governor shuts down factory over emissions
BEIRUT: North Lebanon’s Governor ordered Thursday the closure of a peat-processing plant in the Koura district after residents complained about its emissions and impact on agriculture.
Governor Ramzi Nohra, accompanied by security forces, raided the factory overnight in the Koura village of Bziza.
“The factory operated continuously during the night to hide the great harm that it causes,” Nohra told The Daily Star. “The factory violates health standards.”
The governor explained that factory, which extracts oil from peat, created emissions and odors that had caused anger among the area’s residents.
“This is why we observed closely how this factory was being operated, and we saw that it lacks any health standards,” he said. “It will be immediately closed.”
A bishop from the village expressed his gratitude for the decision, saying the factory was originally erected against the will of the area’s residents.
He explained that the factory had also been causing health problems and agricultural losses for the village’s farmers.
A municipality board member of Bziza told The Daily Star that the factory was not licensed by the municipality when it was created in 2008.
“The factory received the license from former Industry Minister Ghazi Zeaiter directly, without us knowing how it happened,” board member Sleiman Qassas said. “The municipality was only notified about it [after].”
Ghazi Zeaiter is the current Minister of Public Works and Transportation. He is affiliated with the Amal Movement, headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Advertisement
Army chief denies personal political ambitions
Presidential file shelved for now
Jean-Francois Girault, head of the MENA department at the French Foreign Ministry, will discuss with his team his...
Lebanon indicts suspects behind foiled Army attack
Lebanon indicts suspects behind foiled Army attack
The Military Court has indicted three Lebanese citizens and a Syrian national on charges of planning an attack on...
Explosives found in Jezzine: report
Panel formed to solve mobile revenues row
The parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee formed Tuesday a small panel charged with resolving a long-standing row...
Hillary Clinton Asks State Dept. To Release Her Emails To The Public
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, seen here at a UN event last March, has been criticized for using a private email account to conduct official business during her four years in the Obama administration. Andrew Burton/Getty Images hide caption
itoggle caption Andrew Burton/Getty Images
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, seen here at a UN event last March, has been criticized for using a private email account to conduct official business during her four years in the Obama administration.
Andrew Burton/Getty Images
Responding to concerns over her use of a personal email account to conduct official business while in office, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she wants the public to have access to her emails. The State Department says it will review messages for possible release.
The issue rose to importance earlier this week, after it was revealed that during her entire tenure at the State Department, Clinton used a personal email account — a move that had kept the emails out of the government's control and circumvented archival practices.
Those practices have become much more stringent in recent years. In January, Clinton reportedly provided some 55,000 pages of emails to the State Department, after her advisers reviewed them.
On Wednesday, the House Select Committee on Benghazi "issued a subpoena for all emails related to Libya or Benghazi" sent from Clinton's personal account, as the Two-Way reported.
Clinton announced her willingness to share the emails with a wider audience late Wednesday, saying via Twitter, "I want the public to see my email. I asked State to release them."
State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf says:
"The State Department will review for public release the emails provided by Secretary Clinton to the Department, using a normal process that guides such releases. We will undertake this review as quickly as possible; given the sheer volume of the document set, this review will take some time to complete."
As we reported Tuesday, it seems that Clinton used a domain named "clintonemail.com" to create the email account. Now the AP says that the server that handled the account has been "traced back to an Internet service registered to her family's home in Chappaqua, New York."
Earlier this week, The Washington Post reported that the clintonemail.com domain was created on Jan. 13, 2009 — the same day Clinton began the confirmation process in the Senate.
Army arrests ISIS commander in east Lebanon hospital
Army arrests ISIS commander in east Lebanon hospital
The Lebanese Army arrested a 'dangerous' member of ISIS in a hospital in the Bekaa Valley, the National News Agency...
Machnouk doubts Aoun’s presidential chances
Cabinet convenes after two-week halt
The Cabinet convenes in a session aimed at testing the goodwill of political factions and their willingness to...
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)