What does one make of the apparent rapprochement between the United States and Iran over Iraq? It's difficult to say, principally because both countries have very different agendas in the country, even if their shared aim is to contain the offensive (...)
For many Lebanese, Syrian involvement in regional peace negotiations is only desirable if its practical outcome is increased respect for Lebanese sovereignty and independence.
However, the Lebanese are not that optimistic. They fear that once (...)
For many Lebanese, Syrian involvement in regional peace negotiations is only desirable if its practical outcome is increased respect for Lebanese sovereignty and independence.
However, the Lebanese are not that optimistic. They fear that once (...)
Lebanon is poised to hold a presidential election that none of its contending factions - indeed, none of the rival factions in the region - can afford to lose.
Let's start with Syria. In 2005, President Bashar Assad's regime was forced to (...)
July14 was the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille in France. A day later, last Sunday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner did a good impersonation by almost storming off the stage in anger at a pushy Lebanese journalist. The (...)
It says something that one year after the summer 2006 war, we're not sure whether to celebrate Hezbollah's "divine victory or bemoan Israel's destruction of our country and its economy. That disconnect reflects the larger disconnect between (...)
After the attack against a Spanish patrol two Sundays ago, Spain's military began cooperating with Hizbullah in the investigation to determine who had killed its soldiers. This was based on an odd belief that the party is keen to safeguard the (...)
For those following events in South Lebanon, the deadly attack on Sunday against soldiers of the Spanish contingent of UNIFIL was expected. Among the United Nations troops, it was the Spaniards who had the reputation for most forcefully implementing (...)
Many Lebanese, particularly in the majority camp, have been preoccupied with the court being set up to try suspects in the assassination of the late Rafik Hariri. The resignation of Serge Brammertz from the International Criminal Court to devote (...)
Negotiations to create a new national-unity government have hit a brick wall, and that's a relief. The opposition's conditions for agreeing to re-enter the government were too onerous and would have undermined much that was achieved in the past (...)
It is a coincidence, but a useful one, that on the 40th anniversary of an Arab-Israeli war that prompted the Palestinian national movement to break free from the stifling embrace of the Arab states, that effort is repeating itself in Lebanon, albeit (...)
Is it true that Michel Aoun recently visited Damascus and was told he would be asked by Emile Lahoud to form a government after the president's departure? Though Aoun earlier indicated he would not take such a step unless he were guaranteed the (...)
To steal a laconic phrase from Fouad Ajami, say whatever you will about the American experience in Vietnam, the war was well written. Few wrote it better than David Halberstam in his 1972 masterpiece "The Best and the Brightest. News that Halberstam (...)
Jacques Chirac still has some weeks left in office, but as of this Sunday, when France votes in the first round of its presidential election, the president will begin emptying the closets at the Elysee Palace. Chirac's final act, however, may be to (...)
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's speech on Sunday formalized Hezbollah's divorce from the rest of Lebanese society, confirming there is a fundamental rift between the party and a majority of Lebanese over a vision for Lebanon. But the rhetoric was also (...)
We can thank the US speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, for having informed Syrian President Bashar Assad, from Beirut, that "the road to solving Lebanon's problems passes through Damascus. Now, of course, all we need to do is remind Pelosi that the (...)
Lebanon is locked in stalemate as the majority and opposition remain encamped behind their red lines. But there is a way out, and the solution lies in the hands of that volatile man in Rabieh. Michel Aoun can break Lebanon's debilitating impasse, (...)
In Washington, there is a frequent step before old soldiers die and after they've faded away; recruitment into a blue ribbon panel established to resolve one administration headache or other. The bipartisan Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by a former (...)