Qifa Nabki
Military aid
Lebanese Air Force Gets a Cessna With Teeth
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the sale of a military aircraft to Lebanon. The plane is a trusty Cessna 208B Caravan, the “single-engined turboprop, fixed-tricycle landing gear, short-haul regional airliner and utility aircraft” that has cast fear into the heart of many a seagull over the beaches of Lebanon. Its gunmetal grey frame, silhouetted against … Continue reading
Choices, choices…
Lebanese President Michel Sleiman just returned from a productive trip to Russia. Apparently, he modified Lebanon’s earlier request for a fleet of MiG-29’s, replacing them with an order for several Mi-24 attack helicopter gunships. A sensible idea, to my mind, given the fact that a MiG-29 can fly the length of Lebanon in 6 minutes, … Continue reading
U.S. Military Assistance and the LAF
A reader, Emile Hokayem, contributes this commentary in response to recent discussions about U.S. military assistance. Emile is a non-resident fellow at the Stimson Center. The starting point of any discussion on the LAF and its needs must begin with an honest assessment: it is a dysfunctional and inefficient organization that has no vision, no … Continue reading
U.S. Approves Massive Arms Shipment to Lebanon
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Ahead of a much-anticipated meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Lebanese President Michel Sleiman in Washington later this month, the Pentagon announced today that a major arms deal had been reached with Lebanon and that several millions of dollars worth of weapons and equipment would be delivered within weeks. This marks … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…