Qifa Nabki
Bashar al-Assad
Bashar al-Assad’s National Address Disappoints
As I expected, Bashar al-Assad’s speech today was completely reactionary and devoid of any bold conciliatory gestures… Ok, so that’s not exactly what I expected. Let me be the first to admit that I was surprised by Bashar al-Assad’s disappointing (and, in my opinion, dangerously conservative) address to the Syrian people, earlier today. Rather than … Continue reading
Bashar al-Assad to Face the Nation
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is scheduled to address his people tomorrow afternoon, one day after sacking his cabinet in the wake of increasingly bloody nationwide protests. Speculation is rampant on Twitter, Facebook, and the media about what al-Assad is likely to say. In my view, he has two broad options: He can play the blame … Continue reading
Syria and the Arab Rebellion
It’s Syria’s turn. Some friends and colleagues better positioned than I to speculate on the likely outcome of the protests in Der`aa have promised to write a few commentaries on the subject, perhaps early next week. In the meantime, let’s have an open forum on the subject. Please do post links to news items and … Continue reading
What Does the Future Hold For Syria?
My good friend George Saghir, one of the best analysts of Syrian economic affairs, has written a thought-provoking essay for Joshua Landis’s Syria Comment, in which he argues that Syria is staring down the same shotgun barrel as virtually every other Arab nation. Unless it finds a way to radically increase economic activity and curb … Continue reading
Parsing a Mea Culpa
The big news in Lebanese politics these days is Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri’s exoneration of Syria in the matter of his father’s assassination. Here’s the relevant section of last week’s interview in Al-Sharq al-Awsat: وقال الحريري: «فتحت صفحة جديدة في العلاقة مع سورية منذ تأليف الحكومة». وتابع: «يجب على المرء أن يكون واقعيا في هذه … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…