Well, all seems to have returned to normal in Lebanon as the shebab have vacated the streets of Tripoli after setting a bunch of stuff on fire. For post-mortems on the recent spat of violence check out these links–Qifa Nabki calls out both March 8th and March 14th for being hypocritical and I can’t help […]
In his State of the Union address, President Obama rightly pointed to American achievements in building new alliances and facilitating transition to newly found freedoms such as in South Sudan. With regard to the Afpak theater, the President is also right on the immense pressure on terrorist groups and on Al-Qaeda’s leadership in particular. However, […]
A few points from events on the ground in Cairo as protest continue here: 1-Some government media figures appear to be joining ranks with the protestors. Mahmoud Saad, a talk show host in the Egyptian state-run TV, has announced that he will no longer appear on TV starting tonight after he came under pressure from […]
Egyptian police started beating up journalists protesting outside the Press Syndicate in downtown Cairo. They beat up women journalists too who were screaming and crying for help. “Do not club women. Do not attack women,” some of the men rushed to the police asking them not to target women. “You’ll make things worse if you […]
Arzhang Davoodi is an Iranian author, poet, and former Director of a cultural center in Tehran. On November 9, 2003 Mr. Davoodi was arrested without a warrant for his involvement in the production of a TV documentary called “Forbidden Iran” in which he spoke out about human rights violations in Iran. After a trial behind […]
The Lebanese government is on the verge of collapse, as Hezbollah pulled out of the Hariri-led coalition and is poised to become a faction in the ruling party, potentially putting Israel at risk for increased terror activity in the north. However, in Tunisia-inspired protests, the Egyptian people are now up in arms against President Hosni […]
By Emad Mekay Thousands of Egyptians are demonstrating across the country as I write this in what increasingly looks like an unprecedented unrest in size and ferocity. The protests saw factory workers, university professors, political activists and even women and teenage girls braving riots police and taking to the streets across the country. Many were […]
The following piece was written by MICHAEL ADLER in Istanbul and published by Tehran Bureau on 23 JAN 2011 Why did talks between Iran and the world’s six major powers in Istanbul January 21-22 fail to produce any agreement or significant movement toward a compromise? The talks deadlocked after Iran imposed two preconditions on any […]
A few links to share before lights out (it is currently 2:44 am Damascus time) In a follow-up to my earlier post on Lebanon, Beirut saw demonstrations in support of Saad Hariri break out Monday evening and An-Nahar is reporting that the protests have spread across Lebanon. The An-Nahar story also quotes US officials as […]
Could someone please tell me how THIS GUY has become the “decider” in Lebanese politics? Anyway, as I’m sure you know Lebanon has been going through some issues lately. Obviously Syria is deeply involved so I will do my best to discuss the Syrian side of events while trying not to get too caught up […]
With a new Ambassador in town I wanted to get some fresh ideas and opinions represented here on the FPA Syria blog. So I asked the two most interesting people I could think of to comment on the new Ambassador. It has been a bit lonely writing solo these past months and I wanted to […]
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 dispute is the UN’s Special […]
Given the sad state of affairs, I often feel that it’s my responsibility to locate some silver lining that threads through the Iraqi experience. Now, in the midst of crisis, concern and carnage, Iraq’s national soccer team is making another run at the Asia Cup.
This is part two of my exclusive interview with Ilan Mizrahi, the former deputy chief of the Mossad and former head of the Israeli National Security Council under former PM Ehud Olmert. Mizrahi discussed his advice to Olmert on the urgency of establishing peace with Syria, Olmert’s original intent to order a Gaza-like pullout from […]
Last week, I sat down for a two hour exclusive interview with Ilan Mizrahi, the former deputy chief of the Mossad and former head of the Israeli National Security Council under former PM Ehud Olmert. Mizrahi opined on a wide range of issues, including the Iranian nuclear threat, the Stuxnet computer worm, Israeli assassinations in […]