The Petulant Lot & their Not So Petty Challenge!

Syrian officials did not show any sign of real remorse for the failure of their security apparatuses to protect the Danish Embassy from vandals. On the contrary, they were defiant: it is the Danes who should apologize for even criticizing the arson of their embassy. For by doing so, they failed to appreciate the real efforts of the security people who took quite a beating for trying to protect the embassy of the infidels. Continue reading →

The Hamas Factor!

Hamas’ electoral victory, although billed as a “surprise” or a “shock” by many newspapers, did not really come as a major surprise to most observers of Palestinian politics. In fact, the whole reason why Abu Mazin seemed to have entertained postponing the elections for a while was directly related to his firm conviction that holding the elections at this point in time will result in a surrounding victory by Hamas. Continue reading →

The Lion’s Wall!

I actually subscribe to the “Pushed to the Wall” theory. But, naturally, my interpretation of it is less regime-friendly than that of others. My version of the theory stipulates that Bashar & Co. simply lacked the necessary leadership skills and vision to be able to chart a new set of policies for the country vis-à-vis Lebanon, the peace process, and internal reforms, and that it was this mediocrity of theirs that pushed them to the Wall. Continue reading →

The Rhetorical Axis!

And so it happened just like we knew it would. Iranian President Ahmadinejad has just announced the formation of new alliance including Syria, Iran, rejectionist Palestinian groups, and Shia factions in Lebanon (in other words: Hezbollah).

The die seems to have finally been cast. The Shia Crescent has just been formalized and reconfigured into a living and breathing entity, with its own network of supports from among the secular nationalist movements and extremist Sunni groups, which simply have no other means of support at this stage. Continue reading “The Rhetorical Axis!” →