Qifa Nabki
Lebanon
Lebanese Stalemate: The Syria Theory
I have tried to resist viewing the current stalemate in Lebanon’s cabinet formation as the product of Syrian meddling. After all, there are more than enough local obstacles in Lebanon for Syria to bother getting its hands dirty. Some of these obstacles include: Michel Aoun’s struggle with President Sleiman over cabinet shares; Michel Aoun’s struggle … Continue reading
Nakba Day Controversies
A debate has emerged in the wake of Sunday’s tragic border killings, turning on the question of whether the commemoration of Nakba Day (which led to a fence breach in the Golan Heights [check the video out here] and at least ten people killed in Southern Lebanon) was orchestrated by the Assad regime and its … Continue reading
Syria: Conveniently Vulnerable Once Again?
A few days ago, the prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Daniel Bellemare, filed an amended indictment in the investigation of the 2005 murder of Rafiq al-Hariri. The only details reported about the new indictment were that it contained “substantive new elements,” which is what passes for breaking news on the STL front. Today, … Continue reading
Talking about a Revolution: An Interview with Camille Otrakji
And now for something completely different. If you’ve been following events in Syria, you’d know that the English-language press is mostly deeply critical of the Assad regime (while the Arabic press displays a slightly wider range of views). I thought it would be worth trying to present a minority report on the situation from a … Continue reading
The General Begs to Differ
In a week from today, Lebanon will have been without a functioning government for three months. That’s not quite as long as the four and a half month stint that the country endured in 2009 following the legislative elections, but it’s still an embarrassingly long delay. Perhaps the most embarrassing thing about it is the … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…