Qifa Nabki
Lebanon
Who was Wissam al-Hassan?
The news is still trickling out about the bombing today in Beirut, but all media outlets are now confirming that the target was Brigadier-General Wissam al-Hassan, the head of the Information Branch of the Internal Security Forces. I’ve written a great deal about Wissam al-Hassan over the past few years and will have more to … Continue reading
Bomb Hits Achrafieh — Updates & Commentary
A car bomb has exploded in Sassine Square, in the Beirut neighborhood of Achrafieh. I will be posting updates to this page as they become available. Comments, especially from QN readers based in Beirut, are welcomed below. In the meantime, check out the following resources: CNN’s live blog of the blast AlJazeera’s live blog Twitter … Continue reading
Einstein & the Jackass (Or, the Brilliance of Nadim Koteich)
Sincere apologies for neglecting you all for the past couple weeks, but it seems that you’ve gotten along in the comment section very happily without me. Thanks for a great debate about Syria, and thanks to Camille for sharpening his knives and joining in. There are a million things to talk about and I have lots … Continue reading
Establishing a Lebanese Senate: Bicameralism and the Third Republic
My working paper for Stanford University’s Program on Arab Reform and Democracy has just been published. Those who have been following this blog for a while know that bicameralism is a longstanding interest of mine, and I’m grateful to Lina Khatib for giving me the opportunity to spend some time fleshing out my ideas in … Continue reading
Syria’s Man in Lebanon Goes Downtown
Here’s a quick postmortem I’ve written for Al-Monitor on the very strange news of former minister Michel Samaha’s detainment yesterday by Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces. First paragraphs below, then much more after the jump. Three Reasons Why Syria’s Man in Lebanon Was Arrested (Al-Monitor) What to make of today’s arrest of former Lebanese minister Michel … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…