Qifa Nabki
Middle East
Scudding Right Along
DAMASCUS, Syria — U.S. and Israeli officials have reacted negatively to reports that Syria has transferred Scud missiles to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Israel has called the development a “game-changing” move by Syria which has the potential to tip the region into a military conflagration. “Syria claims it wants peace while at the same … Continue reading
War Games
Today marks the 35th anniversary of the event traditionally considered to have provided the spark for the beginning of Lebanon’s Civil War. Lebanon’s politicians are commemorating it with a friendly game of soccer. The game starts at 6:30 PM Beirut time, and apparently will have no spectators. Does anyone know if it will be televised? … Continue reading
Whither Syria?
Back in June 2005, Joshua Landis’s Syria Comment blog ran a post entitled “Whither Syria?” in which Josh discussed a recent article by Sami Moubayed characterizing President Bashar al-Asad’s liberalization attempts as a kind of Syrian “glasnost”. Moubayed concluded his piece by saying: As the press became more open in the USSR, the Soviets, just … Continue reading
Feltman to Speak at Harvard
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
David Lesch on Bashar’s Fence-Hopping
I recommend this piece by David Lesch, a Syria specialist and confidante of President Bashar al-Assad, for Foreign Policy’s Mideast channel. Lesch makes a similar point to the one I made on this blog a few weeks ago, only to earn the ridicule of many of my Syria Comment buddies (!) Here are the crucial … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…