Why is it that in Hollywood movies, the Middle East is always best understood by characters that are jaded? Watching George Clooney in Stephen Gaghan’s film Syriana, that obligation is …
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As the United States has turned spreading Middle Eastern democracy into a top foreign policy priority, it has also seen the broad boulevard of simple ideas on the matter turn …
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It’s already evident, barring a miracle, that there will be no “Beirut I”, let alone a “Paris-II”, conference this February to help Lebanon face its increasingly ominous economic tribulations. In …
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In November, during the French book fair in Beirut, the magazine L’Orient-Express – previously the monthly supplement of the daily L’Orient-Le Jour – was published as a special 10-year anniversary …
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With Lebanon having crossed the Rubicon of the Mehlis report, it must now prepare for the storm that will follow. In many respects, the country will have to use the …
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In early September, the daily Al-Anwar, citing “financial circles,” wrote that investigators looking into the accounts of the four generals arrested on the recommendation of United Nations investigator Detlev Mehlis, …
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As Lebanon picks itself up after months of enduring post-traumatic stress syndrome in the wake of Rafik Hariri’s murder, the Syrian withdrawal, and subsequent bombings and assassinations (a syndrome that …
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Following the assassination attempt against Defense Minister Elias Murr last month, Lebanese newspapers placed on their front pages a photograph of the “reconciliation” between Michel Murr and his brother Gabriel. …
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In April, New York’s Columbia University issued a report that, while focused on a matter related to its Middle East studies program, may end up having a broader impact on …
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Ask many Lebanese what the summer season this year meant to them, and the answer you get will probably be different than the upbeat assessments of Lebanese officials. Final figures …