Qifa Nabki
Qifa Nabki
The View From Mukhtara
Walid Jumblatt has long cultivated a reputation for spotting the angles before anyone else. As international pressure mounted on Syria in 2004, Jumblatt joined the vocal opposition to Lahoud’s rule in a move that broke with several years of close ties with Damascus. In 2009, following the Lebanese parliamentary elections and the much-touted (but ultimately … Continue reading
Lebanon’s Political Honeypot: What’s Behind the Telecoms Spat
The following commentary is by a well-informed reader of this blog who goes by the pseudonym “Charles”. He was one of the authors of the excellent Lebanese Political Journal blog (largely defunct since about 2007, but a must-read during the post-Hariri assassination years), and his intervention provides some much-needed context on the larger issues behind the telecoms showdown … Continue reading
Coup-Coup in Lebanon: Minister Baroud Resigns Over Telecoms-ISF Showdown
Lebanese Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud resigned yesterday following a bizarre showdown involving two different branches of the Internal Security Forces, Minister of Telecommunications Charbel Nahhas, and Baroud himself. March 14 is calling it a Telecoms Ministry-launched coup against the executive branch of the Lebanese government; March 8th is calling it an ISF-launched coup against the … Continue reading
Nasrallah on Syria: More Equal Than Others?
The following is a list of Hizbullah secretary-general Sayyid Hasan Nasrallah’s comments on the various Arab uprisings. First one to spot the odd one out wins a plate of Syrian baklawa. (Source: almanar.com.lb) Tunis: “We must congratulate the Tunisian people on their historic revolution, their struggle, and their uprising.” Egypt: “In Tunis and Egypt, tyrants … Continue reading
Muhanna and Otrakji talk Syria at Bloggingheads
Camille Otrakji and I recorded a segment about the situation in Syria for Bloggingheads, which you can see here. To read my interview with Camille from a few weeks ago (which generated 724 comments from the readership), click here.
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…