On most days, Nabih Berri is pretty happy to be Nabih Berri. Sure, his political party is viewed as Hizbullah’s uncouth country cousin, and no, there isn’t really anyone in line to inherit the throne once the Estez adjourns his last parliamentary session. But for the time being, he’s Nabih Berri, and that’s pretty good. … Continue reading
Several new embassy cables were released three days ago by Wikileaks. They are the same cables that al-Akhbar (which obtained advanced access to them) has been commenting on since July 13, so they’ll be old news for regular readers of the Arabic press. For the rest of you, here’s a basic summary of the most important revelations. … Continue reading
Over the past several weeks, as Wikileaks has released its reams of US government cables full of politically damaging statements by the leaders of Lebanon’s March 14th coalition, many have remarked on the fact that Hizbullah and its allies have not exploited the documents as purposefully as they could have. Sure, there has been the … Continue reading
Apologies for the brief absence, folks. Things have been busy, but not busy enough to keep me from devouring all of the Wikileaks cables about the July 2006 War that al-Akhbar has been publishing. Mesmerizing stuff… For English speakers who may have trouble navigating the newspaper’s website, I’ve posted links to all of the relevant … Continue reading
Apologies for the radio silence over the past week. I was in New Orleans attending the annual conference of the American Comparative Literature Association, and the lure of great music, great seafood, and great company proved more irresistible than Lebanese politics. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and former U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, … Continue reading
And the people say…