Qifa Nabki
Syria
Hariri’s Visit to Damascus
There’s been a lot of chatter about when, if, and how Saad Hariri will make his first visit to Damascus. Some even believe it could happen as soon as this weekend. I’m not as interested in the “when” as in the symbolic potential of this event. Therefore, I thought we’d have a poll and a … Continue reading
New ICG Report On Syria
I try to read everything pertaining to the Middle East published by the International Crisis Group, and wanted to alert QN readers to its latest report on Syria, published today. The executive summary is posted below. Download the full report as a PDF here. Update: Part 2 can be found here. Reshuffling the Cards? (I): … Continue reading
Neoliberalism & the Syrian Economy
There’s an interesting debate going on in the previous post about Dr. Charbel Nahas, and whether or not he’s likely to spearhead an FPM-sponsored assault on Haririan neoliberalism. If that’s just a tad too much “inside baseball” for you, then check out the following couple of links, which shed light on the future of Syria’s … Continue reading
Syria, Turkey, and the Four Seas Strategy
Haaretz correspondent Yoav Stern has written an interesting article for Syria Comment called “Syria’s Four Seas Strategy“. It’s worth a read, but if you’re too busy to click over, here’s the executive summary. Turkey’s cancellation of a joint air force exercise with Israel last week is just the latest nail in the coffin of the … Continue reading
The Next Lebanon War
Anyone else feel that there’s a creepy symbiosis about Israel and Hizbullah’s messaging strategies these days? Take this little tidbit from al-Manar’s website, which cites an article in The Times (a Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper) about Hizbullah’s growing arsenal. The original piece states: According to Israeli, United Nations and Hezbollah officials, the Shia Muslim militia is … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…