Qifa Nabki
Arab Spring
Sham Votes
We should soon be getting the results of Syria’s referendum on Bashar al-Assad’s draft constitution. This is a big day. Yes, the Syrian Army spent the weekend shelling Homs and Idlib, and yes, the opposition(s) called for a boycott of the vote, but I feel the results will be revealing, one way or another. I’ll … Continue reading
Selling Foreign Intervention (in Syria & Lebanon)
The debate over Syria in the Arab media and social networks has essentially become a debate about foreign intervention, and the most commonly encountered argument on the pro-regime side goes something like this: “The Syrian opposition is a foreign-funded, foreign-armed conspiracy to topple the Assad regime and strike a blow against the Resistance Axis. The … Continue reading
Sectarianism in the Eye of the Beholder: Shehadi Responds to Landis
And the hits keep coming. Nadim Shehadi articulates much better than I do the fundamental point of contention with Josh Landis regarding the question of Lebanese and Syrian sectarianism. I’m hoping MESA can be persuaded to host an installment of this very interesting exchange in Denver later this year. See below. * This is another attempt … Continue reading
More on Levantine Sectarianism
Joshua Landis sent me a response to my post from a few days ago, which I publish below. I think we’re talking past each other in certain ways, but I’ll let the readership sort that out. * Dear Elias, Please allow me to respond to your earlier post, entitled “Who is Right on Syria?. You … Continue reading
Joshua Landis and Nadim Shehadi on Syria
Two very smart friends — Josh Landis and Nadim Shehadi — had interesting things to say in the comment section of the last post. I hope neither of them mind me bringing those comments up to the main page so that other readers can weigh in. The exchange was touched off by an interview that … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…