After six weeks of internal wrangling, the Lebanese government Friday agreed to form a new government. Half of the 30 Cabinet posts will be awarded to the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora with about one-third, or 11, of the ministerial seats going to opposition parties supported by Lebanese Hizballah. The decision means Hizballah […]
The latest news this week is Iraq's demand for a withdrawal timetable from US officials. The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Iraqi National Security Adviser, Muwaffak al-Rubaie, demanded the timetable, saying that Iraq is “impatiently waiting” for the withdrawal of US troops. This comes after Prime Minister al-Maliki's same request, and was “the strongest demand […]
Lebanese armed forces dispatched dozens of vehicles to the Bab al-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen districts in Tripoli Thursday to enforce a cease-fire that killed four in recent gunbattles. Gunfire broke out late Wednesday and spilled over into the morning hours of Thursday as snipers killed at least two civilians of the Alawite community. Fighting had […]
Future parliamentary bloc leader MP Saad Hariri filed a legal suit Monday against suspects in the killing of his father, former Premier Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005, in a bomb blast in Beirut. The case was filed by lawyer Mohammad Mattar, who is representing Hariri, at Examining Magistrate Saqr Saqr's office. The claim […]
Israel has successfully tested a new defense system designed to intercept rockets fired from southern Lebanon and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, public radio reported on Sunday. The "Iron Dome" system is expected to be fully operational within a year and will be able to intercept the military-grade Katyusha rockets used by Hezbollah and the cruder […]
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese leaders are close to a deal on the formation of a national unity government as stipulated in an agreement that ended the country's political crisis, political sources said on Saturday. They said the new government, in which Hezbollah and its allies would have a blocking minority, could be announced as early […]
General Michel Aoun launched today the National Christian Gathering. As I said before the idea is not bad, just that it pertains to a different time. President Suleiman did something similar and the impression is that the two men are in a contest. It is interesting to investigate, if Suleiman is in contest with Aoun […]
In a recent speech Sheikh Nasrallah dedicated the swap with Israel to Lebanon. Many things can be said about Hizballah, but they surely know how to spin almost everything in their favor. Hizballah claims that Israel is frail. Perhaps. However, in spite of its more recent victories, real or imaginated Hizballah is not the way […]
It's amazing how two newspapers have taken the same remarks from the Iraqi Foreign Minister Zebari, and spun them into totally different articles. The articles are mainly focused on Zebari's remarks made at a press conference in Baghdad earlier today. New York Times’ article is titled “Iraq Hints at Delay in US Security Deal” and […]
Hizballah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged Wednesday his group had brokered a prisoner swap with the Israeli government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The deal involves the remains of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. Hizballah fighters abducted the Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid in July 2006, an event that led to the July War between […]
In a follow up to my fellow blogger Jennifer's piece on the lucrative oil wars in Iraq, the BBC has a piece entitled “Iraq seeking help to develop oil“. This discusses the official beginning of the opening up of the oil industry to foreign investment. The six main oil fields that are being opened up […]
Mohammed Ali Jafari, commander of the Revolutionary Guards Corps said that Iran will block “oil shipments through the strategic Hormuz Straits if attacked and pledged that Hizbullah could also respond by rocketing Israel.” Hizballah fighting for Iran?! Didn't they claim they are a Lebanese Resistance movement? Oh well. I recommend you read Mehdi Khalaji article […]
After countless negotiations a solution might appear to the deadlock. Sources say Hizballah may agree with Elias Murr taking the Defense Ministry. The catch is that Hizballah has to give the green light to the men that will take control of Lebanon's security services, army and intelligence. Most likely, Hizballah already assessed through its own […]
According to the Senlis Council's latest report on Iraq entitled, “Angry Hearts and Angry Minds“, the international community's mark on Iraq should move away from military means and towards more humanitarian and economic efforts. “Just as we have seen the use of a military surge in Iraq, we need also to see a job surge and […]
February, 2006: Shi’a Iraqis sift through the rubble of the al-Askariyya, or Golden Dome Mosque in Samarra, Iraq in order to find remnants of their religious texts. The city lies in rubble from the supposed al-Qaeda bombing (although no one actually claimed responsibility for the attack). One of the most internationally important Shi’a mosques is […]