Political Theatre and the STL
With reports circling that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) could soon deliver the results of its years long investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafiq Hariri and the rumors that members of Hezbollah could be indicted, many in Lebanon are worried. There are fears that an indictment of Hezbollah could force the … Read more
Border Disputes, Funding and the STL
~ Today, Lebanese and Israelis awoke to find that (although the countries are still officially at war) the skirmish between the IDF and LAF yesterday has not escalated into a sequel of the 2006 war that killed at least 1,500 people. Of course, the international relief due to the absence of hot war today is … Read more
The Problem of US Diplomacy in Lebanon
Joyce Karam – the Washington correspondent for the Beiruti daily The Daily Star – wrote a piece today for Foreign Policy‘s The Middle East Channel that supposes the decline of US diplomatic activity in Lebanon is responsible for the dramatic resurgence of Hezbollah since the 2006 war with Israel. There is no one simple solution … Read more
Goodbye Cedar Revolution
After Rafiq Hariri was assassinated in 2005, Lebanese rose up against the occupying Syrians who were widely perceived as responsible for the murder. Lebanese politics became sharply divided; you were pro-Syrian or anti-Syrian. It did not take long before the Syrians were driven from the country in the so-called Cedar Revolution. Unfortunately, sectarianism turns Lebanese … Read more
Will Justice Bring Instability to Lebanon?
US Senator John Kerry is set to arrive in Beirut today before moving onto Damascus tomorrow, a trip that exemplifies the circular complexity of the Levant. In 2005, after the assassination of Lebanese PM Rafiq Hariri, the US withdrew their ambassador from Syria. Severing relations with the Assad regime acted as an implied accusation of … Read more
