Lebanon

Robert Fisk: Lebanon is like a Rolls Royce with square wheels… it has a lot that’s worthy of praise but it doesn’t run so well – If no agreement is reached on a new election law parliament will be crushed

The prime minister has resigned, there’s no government to speak of, there are further street battles in Tripoli, the threat of more kidnappings. Lebanon, as we used to say in the civil war, returns to normal. And in some ways, it’s true. Lebanon is always living through the greatest crisis […]

The bumpy road to Arab constitutions

By Rami G. Khouri The Daily Star STORY SUMMARY The assorted political crises in Egypt, Tunisia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria and other Arab states show very clearly why credible constitutions are such important documents. These two elements of orderly contestation and genuine citizenship are missing in most Arab countries, which is […]

Muslim world’s condition

Source: Dawn.com MYRIAD problems afflicting Muslims today are of our own making. The combined GDP of a billion plus Muslims living in some 56 sovereign Muslim states is less than that of Japan. Barring a few countries like Malaysia and Turkey, most Muslim states are underdeveloped. Pakistan has seven million […]

Gaza: Flawed recourse

Story Summary Source: Daily Star, Lebanon The race is now on between a new war in the Gaza Strip, and a flurry of efforts by countries and organizations to contain the situation. Compared to the last Israeli military offensive four years ago, this time around holds more unknowns; Jerusalem and […]

Lebanon: Lessons from Two Assassinations

Source: Stratfor: On Oct. 19, Lebanese Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan was assassinated on a narrow side street near Sassine Square in downtown Beirut. The attack involved the detonation of a moderately sized vehicle-borne improvised explosive device as al-Hassan’s car passed by the vehicle in which the device was hidden. The […]

Syria widens Hezbollah’s contradictions

STORY SUMMARY Reports that a Hezbollah member, Ali Hussein Nassif, was killed in Syria last week, along with other party members, should not surprise us. As Hezbollah’s role in Syria becomes clearer, and as the party continues to contribute to the Assad regime’s viciousness, its vulnerabilities will increase. However, the […]