Although Hezbollah looks increasingly likely to weather Syria’s civil war, blowback from hardline Sunnis at home may prove a longer-term challenge.
Bluster and Blowback in Beirut
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al-Qaeda
Running Off to War
As in the 1940s in Palestine, some opposition recruits have gone to Syria motivated by extremist ideologies and with the intention to commit acts of terrorism. But most have more prosaic reasons for fighting.
Jury Still Out on Al-Libi Rendition
The rendition of al-Qaeda operative Abu Anas al-Libi by American forces over the weekend in Tripoli raises a host of troubling legal questions. But the answer to one of them—what to do with him now—is clear. He should be transferred to a civilian court in the United...
Leak of an Al Qaeda Plot Presents Larger Problem for U.S. Intelligence Than Snowden
In the New York Times, Eric Schmitt and Michael S. Schmidt report that documents Edward Snowden released might have caused less short-term damage than leak of an Al Qaeda plot in August. After media reports, Al Qaeda significantly reduced its use of a major...
On the Fence about Syria? Read This!
Some progressives remain conflicted about how the United States should respond to Syria's increasingly violent civil war. This internal division has only deepened as the Obama administration considers launching a military strike on Bashar al-Assad for an alleged...
Table the Red Line
One year after President Obama declared that Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons would cross a “red line,” Syria stands accused of carrying out a cruel sarin gas attack against opposition groups and activists, killing hundreds of people in rebel-held East and...
In Kurdish Syria, a Different War
On August 15, a car bomb ripped through a Beirut suburb, killing 21 people. The explosion was but the latest in a wave of attacks across Lebanon throughout 2012 and 2013 that were linked to events inside Syria. The ease with which violence in Iraq and Syria has...
Moral Obscenities in Syria
The threat of a reckless, dangerous, and illegal US or US-led assault on Syria is looking closer than ever. The US government has been divided over the Syria crisis since it began. Some, especially in the Pentagon and some of the intelligence agencies, said direct...
Can Mali Reunite?
Now that Mali has held its first election following the state’s near disintegration—a 16-month period marked by a fierce rebel offensive, a military coup, and a French military intervention—the prospects for peaceful reunification are on the minds of many. A high...
Syria and the Monarchs: A Perfect Storm
The Obama administration’s decision to directly supply weapons to the Syrian opposition may end up torpedoing the possibility of a political settlement. It will almost certainly accelerate the chaos spreading from the almost three-year old civil war. It will also align Washington with one of the most undemocratic alliances on the planet, and one that looks increasingly unstable. In short, we are headed into a perfect political storm.