Defeat For Peace?

One of Lebanon’s most respected commentators speculates on the nature of a probable war scenario between Syria and Israel.
In his flagship Monday column, Ghassan Tueni, a March 14 figure and father of a martyred Journalist, imagines a situation where Syria and Israel go to a pretend-war over the Golan heights. Mr. Tueni thinks loudly: Why [...]

Aoun’s Compromise Candidate

The Orange presidential aspirant defines the term “compromise candidate”.

A heading in tayyar.org caught my attention today : “Aoun To MBC: I don’t think we’ll reach November 24 without agreeing on who the next President will be”
Now the word ‘agree’ in Arabic (natafaham) can also mean ‘compromise’, so I thought: Could it be? Aoun wants to [...]

Revealing Quote

“I used to think that the Lebanese exaggerate when they accuse Syria, but now I realized that she is the foundation of all troubles”
Comment from Mohammed Abdul Aziz, a Saudi who read about the plan to kill the Saudi Ambassador in Lebanon in Alarabiya.

The Problem With Big Carrots

Will France’s promise of a “Spectacular Opening Gesture” convince Syria of leaving Lebanon alone?

Diplomats rarely use the word spectaculaire, but this is precisely the word chosen by France’s top diplomat to discribe to Le Parisien how his country would treat Assad’s regime if only it would let Lebanon peacefully elect a President and remove the [...]

Fatah Al Islam’s Options

Now that the women and children have been evacuated from the camp, the remaining members of Fateh Al Islam have a tough choice to make.

The Army played their cards well. A combination of carrots (promises of fair trials + sparing the women and children) and sticks (420kg bombs) have convinced the remaining dead-enders who [...]

Who Banned The Play?

According to Hariri-owned Almustaqbal, it’s the Sureté Generale who banned it. Is that a relief?

Remember the Rabih Mroué play that was banned from playing in Lebanon? Many of us here immediately blamed the Interior Minister who belongs to March 14, a party that prides itself on the freedom of speech. The cognitive dissonance was just [...]

Scathing Saudi Article Blasts Syria’s Lebanon Meddling

The Saudi Okaz newspaper wrote what must be the hardest hitting Saudi criticism of Syria in the history of their mutual relationship, marking a new low in their deteriorating relation.
No smiles between Assad and Abdullah
The article starts with the question many Lebanese are asking:

هل سوريا هي العقدة والحل معاً؟ ما هو الوضع الأفضل للبنان [...]

US: No To Changing Lebanese Constitution

According to Lebanese newspapers Al-Anwar and Al-Akhbar, two American official sources (the States department spokesman and the American embassy in Beirut)  rushed to counter Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley’s statements to Alhayat yesterday; the US, in fact, is against changing the constitution, they maintained.Read more details in today’s newspapers.Also, Naharnet.