Qifa Nabki
Obama
Axis(tential) Questions
A couple of days ago, I sat in on a lecture about Nasser’s foreign policy in the 1950’s-60’s, and the importance of regional axes in the Cold War world. It left me wondering about the extent to which we still live in such a world today, at least as far as Middle East politics are … Continue reading
UN Sanctions on Iran: How Should Lebanon Vote?
As Michael Young points out in his column in The Daily Star today, there’s a decent chance that Lebanon will soon find itself in a bit of a tight spot vis-à-vis the proposed UN resolution to sanction Iran. Apparently, Obama administration officials believe that they can persuade China to get onboard, which would then put … Continue reading
U.S. Names Ambassador to Syria; Different Ali Tajeddine Onboard Ethiopian Airlines Crash
Sources are reporting that the new American ambassador to Damascus will be Robert Ford, former ambassador to Algeria and current deputy ambassador to Iraq. It’s funny: I was having tea with an NPR journalist yesterday afternoon and we were remarking on the fact that we still have no inkling of what the Obama Administration’s Syria … Continue reading
The Saga Continues: Nicholas Noe Responds to Schenker, Hokayem
Nicholas Noe sent me this commentary to publish at QN; it’s a response to the debate about U.S. military funding for the Lebanese Army that we’ve hosted here over the past week. In other news, check out a preview of Jesse Aizenstat’s book on surfing in southern Lebanon. Also, the new Arab Reform Bulletin is … Continue reading
Sleiman meets Obama
President Michel Suleiman met with President Obama yesterday afternoon in the Oval Office. Judging from the two leaders’ remarks at the post-meeting press conference, it seems like it went roughly according to script. Sleiman: Thank you for receiving us Mr. President. Obama: Thank you for coming, Mr. President. It’s an honor to have you. Sleiman: … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…