Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt appears to be repositioning his Druze bloc in the face of changing national and regional political realities.
In the past few weeks, Jumblatt expressed his support for financing of the Hariri Tribunal, was seen at recent March 14 social gatherings, …
The crisis in Syria is deepening and the Assad regime is fighting for its life. The rhythm of the revolution is familiar: the state cracks down on demonstrators throughout the week, inevitably committing some new outrage on its citizens; rage builds and explodes on Friday after …
Indictments have been issued in the investigation into the assassination of Rafik Hariri. Four members of Hizballah are reportedly named in the case and the Lebanese government has a month to make arrests, after which the sealed indictments will become public.
The indictments come at a particularly tense time for Lebanon, …
As the current civil crisis rages in Syria, Lebanon and others await the outcome. Coinciding with the so-called Arab Awakening throughout the Middle East, demonstrations that started earlier this year in Syria have continued to build. The protests have been met with force by the government.
The Tunisian and Egyptian governments …
The protest movement in Syria continues to grow, with thousands of demonstrators taking to the street on Friday for a “day of rage”. We have seen similar days of rage in the other Arab countries that have undergone or are undergoing revolutions. The people of Syria, at first demanding reforms, …
These are troubling times for Lebanon. Even for a country under the thumb of Damascus, things seem to be out of their control. The most anyone can do is just wait and see.
Since 1963, Syria has been under control of the Baath party. Hafez Assad took power in 1970 and …
It was a question Washington had been struggling with since the George W. Bush administration: How can America strengthen the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) without simultaneously aiding Hizballah? This week, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates decided that it was impossible.
Since Hizballah began participating in Lebanese …
Last Sunday, Saad Hariri’s March 14 coalition held a rally in Beirut to commemorate the six-year anniversary of the group’s founding. In front of a crowd of thousands, Hariri questioned the usefulness of heavily armed non-state actors in Lebanon, and said that the Lebanese state should have …
Last April, an Egyptian court sentenced 22 alleged members of a Hizballah cell to prison for spying and planning attacks on tourist sites. The leader of the cell was Sami Shehab, a.k.a. Mohammed Yousef Mansoor. Hizballah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah publically confirmed that Mr. Shehab was a …
Hosni Mubarak is gone and the streets of Cairo look like a million Mardi Gras. But as Egyptians celebrate their revolution, a different kind of transition has taken place in Lebanon. In less than thirty days, the pro-Western March 14 coalition shifted from majority to opposition, leaving Washington scrambling for …
On Wednesday, January 12th, Hizballah and its allies withdrew 11 of their ministers, causing Lebanon’s government to collapse. Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is now a caretaker, and it is unclear what his role will be in the formation of a new government, if any. At the heart of the …
Year in review
For Lebanon, 2010 was dominated by the continued investigation into the death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Hariri was murdered in February 2005, sparking off massive protests that led to the end of Syria’s 30 year occupation of Lebanon.
Since 2007, the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) …
Last Saturday, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri flew to Tehran to meet with President Ahmedinejad and other Iranian politicians. The purpose of the visit was to secure support for his country at a particularly tense time in Lebanese history, or at least in Hariri’s tenure as Prime Minister.
The Special Tribunal …
Pressure continues to build in Lebanon in anticipation of indictments in the Hariri tribunal. Members of Hizballah are widely expected to be named in the case, which could ignite mounting tensions between the pro-West March 14 government and the Party of God.
The rhetoric coming out of south Beirut has been …
At a lecture at the Middle Ease Institute several weeks ago, Dr. Thomas O’Donnell described the modern relationship between the United States and Iran. He characterized the struggle between the two as a battle for the hegemony in the Middle East. America is still heavily reliant on petroleum and the …
