Qifa Nabki
Hezbollah
Motives & Mysteries: Tripoli Edition
Whenever a bomb explodes in Lebanon, conversations both public and private revolve around an old parlor game that we might call: “Motives & Mysteries”. For those unfamiliar with the genre, here’s a snippet: Abu Michel: Terrible, the news from Tripoli. Abu Samir: Just awful. Abu Michel: A bunch of jihadi dogs and salafist mercenaries. I … Continue reading
Pathos and Promises: Nasrallah on the Dahiyah Blast
Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyid Hasan Nasrallah addressed a large crowd of supporters in Aita al-Shaab this evening via videolink from Beirut. The topic was yesterday night’s car bomb in al-Dahiyah, which killed two dozen people, wounded hundreds, displaced hundreds more, and caused enormous damage to a residential neighborhood. Nasrallah called on the Lebanese to work together … Continue reading
Abbas on Syria
I’m in Beirut for a few weeks this month, seeing family and attending weddings. The mood is eerily pleasant, though now that the Eid has passed everyone seems to be bracing themselves for the return to arms. I caught up with my friend Abbas yesterday. Some of you may remember him from his appearances in … Continue reading
When Langley Met Dahiyeh: A Trans-Oceanic Love Story
Some folks are up in arms about the recent revelation that US intelligence agencies warned the Lebanese government about an Al-Qaida plot to smuggle several tons of explosives into Lebanon. As Mitch Prothero writes in McClatchy: The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency warned Lebanese officials last week that al Qaida-linked groups are planning a campaign of … Continue reading
Nick Blanford and Mitch Prothero Respond to Queries about Hizbullah Involvement in Sidon
A commenter on my last post asks the following question, which many others have been asking today in the wake of two pieces written by Nicholas Blanford and Mitchell Prothero about Hizbullah’s alleged participation in the Lebanese Army’s confrontation with Shaykh Ahmad al-Assir’s supporters in Saida: “I can’t believe the claim Hizballah was involved. TV … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…