- Well, welcome to the "700 Club,"
and thanks for joining us.
Here's a message for you.
America is back as a trusted partner.
Well, that's supposed to bePresident Biden's message
in his first address tothe United Nations today.
The problem, his administration'sactions say otherwise,
and they speak volumes.
- After the chaoticwithdrawal from Afghanistan
and a serious breach with the French,
America's allies are asking,
"Can the United States be trusted?"
CBN's Jenna Browder hasthe story from Washington.
(effects whooshing)
- President Biden's messageto the United nations
is that America is backto being a global partner
with a foreign policy rooted in diplomacy,
but some allies are questioning his word,
given recent events.
(people chattering)
From the chaotic us troopwithdrawal from Afghanistan,
then the crisis at our Southern border,
to a push for booster shots for Americans,
when most of the world hasyet to receive their first
and other bad news stories.
Recent headlines call into question
US leadership in the world.
The French are so angry,
they've pulled their ambassador to the US.
This after our new securityagreement with Australia,
killed France's deal tosell them submarines.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Interpreter] I had beenrecalled for consultations.
That's the meaning of this procedure,
which is uncommon,
and which marks theseriousness of our reaction,
and in this moment,
in our relationshipwith the United States.
- [Jenna] Underscoring it all,
the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
outraged NATO partners.
In August, the German politician
who's running for chancellor,
as head of Angela Merkel'sChristian Democratic Union Party
criticizing the US foracting unilaterally,
calling it the greatestdebacle in NATO's history.
Members of Britain's Parliamentechoing that sentiment,
actually condemning the American president
and calling for a new direction.
- We can set out a visionclearly articulated
for reinvigorating ourEuropean NATO partners,
to make sure that we are not dependent
on a single ally, on thedecision of a single leader.
- [Jenna] This is not what the Europeans
or the American mediaexpected from Joe Biden.
Heavily critical offormer President Trump's
bombastic foreign policy,
word was that the "grownups"
would be back in charge.
- When Biden came in,people let down their guard,
they expected that thiswould be an easier moment,
an easier time in American diplomacy,
and to some extent it has not been.
- [Jenna] Michael O'Hanlonwith the Brookings Institution
telling CBN news that France in particular
felt ambushed by the submarine deal.
Something it would have expected more
under the Trump administration.
O'Hanlon says, trust is goingto have to be built back up.
- Negotiate with allies
before you make the next bigdecision on an alliance change
or a use of force.
You compromise with them,
you seek out common ground,you don't do things secretly.
These are the kinds of principles
that I think the Bidenteam's gonna have to restore,
which most of us expected
they would be following from the outset,
but in fact, have breachedon a number of occasions.
- And his speech at theUN General Assembly today,
President Biden is expected to call
for greater diplomacy andrenewed global alliances
to fight the coronaviruspandemic and climate change.
These leaders though willwant to see his words
backed up with action.
In Washington, Jenna Browder, CBN News.
- Well, we look forward to the UN speech,
we also look forwardto the reaction to it.
I remember President Trump
giving his first address at the UN,
and during some of his talking points,
the audience actually laughed at him.
So will Biden get the same reception?
Certainly will be awhole lot of skepticism
to America is back as a global partner
in wake of what he's already done.
So he's alienated Germany,he's alienated Great Britain,
he's alienated France.
These are our most trusted allies,
the core of the entire NATO Alliance.
And all three of them are saying,
"Well, you want to go out alone,
"well, you're going to go it alone."
In other news, who willbe held accountable
for the drone strike
that killed 10 innocentpeople in Afghanistan,
seven children.
The white house has supportingthe military's investigation
into what the Pentagon isnow calling a tragic mistake.
John Jessup has more from ourCBN News Bureau in Washington,
John.(effects whooshing)
- That's right Gordon,
fallout is spreading after thePentagon shocking admission
that the drones strike in Kabul
hit an aid worker and hisfamily, not an ISIS-K member.
And as the survivingfamily members and friends
say an apology is not enough.
CBN national security correspondent,Caitlin Burke has more.
- That deadly mistake,
sparking a Pentagon review
of the CENTCOM investigationinto the strike.
Plus renewing the debate
about using over the horizon capabilities
as a counter-terrorism strategy.
(people chattering)(dogs barking)
- This strike was takenin the earnest belief
that it would prevent animminent threat to our forces
and the evacuees at the airport.
But it was a mistake,
and I offer my sincere apologies.
- [Caitlin] Instead of takingout terrorists, however,
the US Hellfire missile
killed 10 members of the Ahmadi family,
including Emal Ahmadi'sthree-year-old daughter Malika.
- I want for the USA
that according of the USA,
that they should punish to persons
targeted innocent children,
innocent person at my home.
- [Caitlin] The driverof the targeted vehicle
was Zemari Ahmadi a long time aid worker
with a US-based group.
Rather than carrying explosives,
it's believed his carwas full of water bottles
for his family.
Waheedullah Zaheer aformer coworker of Ahmadis,
tells CBN news
his colleague was passionateabout humanitarian work.
- He was working
with the Nutrition &Education International,
and he was just providing service
to the teenager boys and women
to end malnutrition.
- [Caitlin] For daysafter the drone strike
the Pentagon insisted ithad hit its intended target.
- At this point, we think that
the procedures were correctly followed
and it was a righteous striking.
- [Caitlin] And PresidentBiden use the strike
as an example of a new overthe horizon terrorism strategy.
- We can strike terrorists and targets
without American boots on the ground,
or very few if needed.
We've shown that capacityjust the last week.
We struck ISIS-K remotely,
days after they murdered13 of our service members
and dozens innocent Afghans.
- [Caitlin] "The New YorkTimes" first raised concerns
that civilians had beenkilled in the strike,
not terrorists.
Zaheer says he knew
as soon as he saw Ahmadi had been killed,
that the US had made a mistake.
- Looking his background, his attitude,
his social attitude with the community
and he was so humble,
and yes, I thought he's innocent.
- [Caitlin] On Friday, Secretaryof Defense Lloyd Austin
officially cleared Mr. Ahmadi's name,
saying he had no connections to ISIS-K,
and that his activitieswere completely harmless.
Austin has ordered areview of the investigation
into the drone strike,
saying in a written statementthat the purpose is to
"Consider the degree towhich the investigation
"considered all availablecontext and information,
"the degree to whichaccountability measures
"need to be taken, and at what level,
"and the degree to whichstrike authorities,
"procedures and processes needto be altered in the future."
Caitlin Burke, CBN News.
- Thank you, Caitlin.
Turning to the latest news on COVID.
Pfizer says its vaccineis safe and effective
for kids five to 11 years old.
Children now account
for more than one in five new COVID cases,
the data which was not made public,
still needs to be reviewed by the FDA.
- And although there've been inroads
made by masking and doing other things,
we're still not where we need to be,
for children to be able to growup and have a full childhood
and all the way through adolescence.
And so I see this asurgent for many reasons,
the social reasons,
as well as the immediate impact
in reducing hospitalizations and illness.
- [John] Pfizer's pivotal trials,
studied 2200 children,
injecting them with 1/3the amount of a dose
normally given to adults.
The company says despiteminor side effects,
that showed a safe, well tolerated
and shows robust antibodies.
Results for children under five
are expected to come later this year.
Meanwhile, Johnson andJohnson is out today saying
that a booster given six monthsafter its one shot vaccine
produces a 12 fold increase in antibodies.
The study has not yet been peer reviewed.
Well turning now to the Middle East,
for the first time in more than a year,
the Nation of Lebanon,Israel's Northern neighbor
has a functioning government.
The question remains though,
whether it will be strong enough
to keep the Iranian backedHezbollah from taking over.
CBN's Chris Mitchellreports from Jerusalem.
(effects whooshing)
- [Chris] Lebanon's NewPrime Minister Najib Mikati
is promising to stop the country's
dramatic economic collapse
and urging politicians to work together.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Interpreter] Thesituation is very difficult
and we all know this,
but it's not impossible to deal with it,
if we cooperate as Lebanese,
we have to work hand in hand.
- [Chris] And that will be a tall order
since there's been no true governing body,
since shortly after themassive Beirut Port explosion
in August, 2020.
- France, United States,international community,
all of them,
the IMF, the InternationalBank, they said always,
we are ready to help you,
but you have to form a government.
The mission of thegovernment should be reforms.
I don't think that they can,the government, make reforms.
- [Chris] Reform is clearly needed,
as more than half thepopulation sits in poverty
due to a drastic drop in valueof the country's currency.
That's led to skyrocketing food prices,
crippling fuel shortages andwidespread power outages.
While a lack of governmentis part of Lebanon's woes,
there's more behind it.
- We're watching Hezbollastan,
Lebanon is not a failed state,
but a fake state,
it's an illusionary facadeof a legitimate government.
- [Chris] Reserve BrigadierGeneral Assaf Orion,
sees the new government as a puppet
that allows Hezbollah totighten its grip on the country.
- They're running the show,
they allow legitimate veneerof Christian Sunni's and others
to take part in this facade.
And as long as the worldbuys it and keeps on paying,
it will keep on rolling.
- [Chris] Orion says
the West needs to learn from Afghanistan,
where for decades, the USsupported the local government,
that was then overrun by the Taliban
before the Americans even left.
- Political realities can'tbe wished into reality.
Designate Hezbollah asa terror organization,
sanction it, fight it across
the whole of government,
financially, legally, politically,
and if needed the militarily,
and recognize reality for what it is.
- [Chris] For Israel, the threat is huge.
- Hezbollah is also theseverest military threat
to Israel on its borders.
That potential for theseverest war in the region
is between Israel and Hezbollah,
and that's because Iran iskeeping on pushing itself
onto Israel's frontiers,
both in Lebanon and in Syria.
- [Chris] Meanwhile, Israel says
Iran is just a month away
from having enough materialto make a nuclear bomb.
Chris Mitchell, CBN News, Jerusalem.
- Thanks Chris.
Gordon, there was a time when Lebanon
was compared to theParis of the Middle East,
and now it's a country in dire straights.
- It was called the Jewelof the Mediterranean,
and it was a beautiful country.
I had the privilege of visiting Beirut.
You could actually go toanywhere within the country,
you didn't have to fear for your life.
It was wonderfully cosmopolitan,very sophisticated.
And that was in 1969.
But today it's acompletely different story.
What happened?
Well, what happened was the PLO
tried to topple King Husseinin Jordan, they failed,
Syria was trying to support that,
the US military got involved,
in a threat without any action,
and that essentially doomed the coup
and in the follow-up the PLOwas expelled from Jordan,
and Lebanon said, come to us,
we have the secret sauce,
we know how Jews andMuslims and Christians
can all get together and live in harmony.
We have shared government,everything's great.
And so the PLO move in.
Now that radicalized group
that was bent on the destruction of Israel
completely destroyed Lebanon.
It hasn't been the same sense.
Today it's no longer called the PLO,
it's called Hezbollah,
and it's heavily funded by Iran.
The number one purpose, attack Israel,
that's their goal.
They're not trying to build a nation,
they're not trying to build an economy,
they're not trying to have peace,
they're trying to havehardened, bunkers and tunnels
and all the hills in Southern Lebanon
so that they can attack the Israeli Army,
they can send rockets across the border
and they can be essentiallya terrorist state.
Now, what does the Bible say about this?
That's the promise to Abraham.
"I will bless those who bless you."
And there's the other side of it.
"I will curse those that curse you."
You look at the root cause ofwhat's happening to Lebanon,
when they come to peace with Israel,
when they can finally say webless the children of Abraham.
When they can finally dothat, then they'll have peace.
