In just five years, Syria has gone from being the world’s second-largest host of refugees to the second-largest producer of them.
Refugee Crisis: The Stunning Collapse of Syria’s Safe Spaces
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Lebanon
ISIS: The Spoils of the “Great Loot” in the Middle East
Adding yet more warfare to the current crisis in the Middle East will perpetuate exactly what the imperial powers set out to do: tear an entire region of the world asunder.
Did the U.S. Revive Operation Paperclip for a Terrorist?
The United States seems to have granted asylum to a terrorist as it did Nazi scientists after World War II.
Hamas and Hezbollah Agree to Disagree on Syria
Sunni Hamas and Shiite Hezbollah have apparently agreed to disagree on Syria while maintaining a strategic partnership against Israel.
Bluster and Blowback in Beirut
Although Hezbollah looks increasingly likely to weather Syria’s civil war, blowback from hardline Sunnis at home may prove a longer-term challenge.
Applying the Lebanese Template to Syria
Syria’s devastating civil war is unfortunately nothing new in the Levant. A similar civil war, in fact—marked by sectarianism, the involvement of foreign states, and the loss of tens of thousands of lives—ravaged Syria’s smaller neighbor Lebanon for over 15 years....
Postcard from Lebanon
Conversation on the streets of Beirut since the bombing in October has a familiar vocabulary, one reminiscent of 2005 when Rafic Hariri was assassinated.
Christmas in Lebanon
A Lebanese Alawite family sits in their living room by a Christmas tree. The Alawite sect is a branch of Shi’a Islam found mostly in Syria. When asked about their Christmas tree, they replied “We obviously don’t believe in the same Christmas story, but its a fun holiday. Nice for the kids.”
Harirism Exposed
Saad Hariri—the Saudi-born son of the late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri—has been on something of a speaking tour lately. The billionaire former prime minister has repeatedly tried to make the case that Lebanon’s incumbent government (read Hezbollah) has put the country in harm’s way because of its stance on the conflict in neighboring Syria. But Hariri may be stoking the sectarian fires himself.
Hezbollah Hedges Its Bets on Assad
The Party of God will not disappear even if the Assad regime does. Nonetheless, if the Ba’athist order in Syria falls, Hezbollah will be compelled to operate in a more challenging environment, both domestically and regionally.