Qifa Nabki
Free Syrian Army
Syria and the Lessons of Iraq
Joshua Landis and Murhaf Jouejati were on the PBS Newshour a few nights ago discussing the Obama administration’s stance on Syria in the wake of its decision to withhold non-lethal aid from the Free Syrian Army. The interview is brief; I recommend watching it all. After the PBS clip went live there was a discussion … Continue reading
When Langley Met Dahiyeh: A Trans-Oceanic Love Story
Some folks are up in arms about the recent revelation that US intelligence agencies warned the Lebanese government about an Al-Qaida plot to smuggle several tons of explosives into Lebanon. As Mitch Prothero writes in McClatchy: The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency warned Lebanese officials last week that al Qaida-linked groups are planning a campaign of … Continue reading
A Compromise in Syria: The Regime’s View
The recent decision by the United States to start arming the Syrian opposition, coupled with the intervention by Hizbullah in al-Qusayr point to a deepening conflict in Syria. In the current context, the prospect of a peaceful solution based on a political compromise at the Geneva II Conference next month is desperately slim. The regime appears determined to … Continue reading
Analysts and Combatants Discuss Qusayr in Lebanon’s Premier Spin Room
Two Thursdays ago, the Lebanese political talk show Kalam al-Nas featured an interesting discussion of Hizbullah’s involvement in the battle for al-Qusayr, and its repercussions on the Lebanese domestic front. Several guests weighed in (including Ramzi Kanj, Nawfal Daou, Salem Zahran, Mohammad Salam, Saleh Machnouk, and Louay Miqdad), and while no fists were thrown, the show had … Continue reading
Hizbullah Celebrates the Fall of al-Qusayr
I was about to publish a post this morning about the different scenarios of a post-conflict Syria and their implications for Hizbullah, but someone sent me this photo and I couldn’t resist posting it. What we have here is the scene of a couple Hizbullah volunteers handing out candies in celebration of the fact that … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…