Qifa Nabki
Obama
Hizbullah: It Feels So Good to Be So Bad…
Boy oh boy is the Axis of Evil the place to be these days. To witness the envoys tripping over each other in an effort to court Iran, Syria, and Hizbullah is to realize that the birth pangs of the New Middle East have been replaced by the death throes of the Bush doctrine. Being … Continue reading
New Metaphors for the Syrian-US Rapprochement
Have you heard? The United States is on… The Road to Damascus. Yes, that road; the road on which Paul – the synagogue-purging firebrand who set out to disabuse any soft-headed Jews of their Jesus-loving ways – saw the light and embraced the new faith. It’s the spiritual road of inner renewal, the road of … Continue reading
Can Syria be the Linchpin in Obama’s Mideast Strategy?
As someone who came to consciousness during the period of Syrian control of Lebanon, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sympathetic to those Lebanese who regard Damascene politics with an innate sense of trepidation. Growing up in such an environment, I’d heard the old box-of-matches-and-pail-of-water argument countless times, while listening in on discussions … Continue reading
Engaging Syria, part 1
Everybody is talking about Obama’s need to engage Syria. The pro-engagement crowd has grown beyond the initial cadre of Arab-friendly analysts and now includes taste-makers and heavy hitters who have the ear of the President: people like Martin Indyk, Richard Haass, and others. Only a year ago, when Syria Comment and Creative Forum hosted discussions about Syrian-Israeli … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…