The time for sacrificing is over

Ammar Abdulhamid & Elias Aoun / Special to The Daily Star

Earlier this week there was agreement at the UN Security Council over a presidential statement reaffirming the clauses of Security Council Resolution 1559 approved in September and calling for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon. This has forced Syria to face a critical decision: either to maintain its military presence in Lebanon and deny it is an “occupier,” or pursue a new path aimed at respecting its neighbor’s sovereignty. Continue reading “The time for sacrificing is over” →

The Syrian opposition’s woeful irrelevance

Special to The Daily Star

One of the major problems of the nascent opposition movement in Syria is its adoption of attitudes and modes of discourse very much reminiscent of the regime it is supposedly opposing.

The Syrian opposition does not seek to justify itself to the Syrian people or gain their support, and it fails to provide a vision for change in the country, be it political, social or economic. No wonder, then, that Syrians continue to be politically apathetic and inclined to pinning their hopes on the ability of President Bashar Assad to deliver on his long-promised reforms. Continue reading “The Syrian opposition’s woeful irrelevance” →

Will the Syrian regime take on the world?

Special to The Daily Star

To an outside observer, the Syrian regime must seem bent on pursuing a path of confrontation with the rest of the world. At the beginning of the American invasion of Iraq, and thanks to the bellicose posture the Syrian regime adopted during the early stages of the conflict, a similar showdown with the US was averted only at the last minute. This occurred because cooler heads in the Bush administration prevailed in their argument that a quarrel with Syria would, at that stage, distract Washington from its main task in Iraq. Continue reading “Will the Syrian regime take on the world?” →

Arab Liberals: the last hope for reform

Special to The Daily Star

An interesting phenomenon has been taking place of late: coverage in the international media of the activities of Arab and Muslim terrorists has given way, for a short while at least, to a consideration of Arab liberal intellectuals and activists and their potential role in the longed-for reform process in the Arab world. Continue reading “Arab Liberals: the last hope for reform” →