Lebanon finally has a president in 29 months. Saad Hariri, a former prime minister, had to submit to ground realities by accepting the choice of Hizbullah, his political rivals, for president.
Saudi king Abdullah may appear dour at the ripe old age of 87 and with one leg already in the grave, but he is not without sense of humor. On August 8, he broadcast a message on Saudi television calling on President Bashar al-Asad of Syria to implement “comprehensive and quick reforms” in his country.
Some Canadian media outlets have become conduits for Israeli propaganda. The latest in this series were “leaked” United Nations documents about the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination in Beirut.
The larger story from Lebanon’s June 7 parliamentary elections was neither the “defeat” of Hizbullah, as the Western media claimed, nor the resounding victory for the US-Saudi backed and financed March 14 movement. Its real significance lay in the fact that it may usher changes in Lebanon’s political landscape in ways that would have been unthinkable barely five years ago.
Watching the US's increasing pressure on Syria, it is difficult to escape the feeling of history repeating itself. The parallels with the feverish swirl of diplomatic manoeuvres that built up to the US-led war against Iraq are inescapable.
Like a large rock thrown into a still pool, the succession of ripples resulting from the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri in a massive bomb-explosion on February 11 continue to emerge and spread by the day.
The assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri in an enormous explosion in Beirut on February 14 sent as many political ripples through the region as questions it raised about the motives and identity of those who carried out the attack.
Nothing beats the bizarre, stinging war of words and mudslinging that has been raging for the last few weeks between Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and his minister for the displaced Walid Junblat.
Lebanon, it is commonly joked in Beirut, has three presidents: Elias Hrawi, Rafic Hariri and Nabih Berri. ‘What about Hafez al-Asad?’ asked a recent visitor to Beirut.
Hopes for resuscitating the stalemated Oslo ‘peace process’ were dashed last month after US Middle East envoy Dennis Ross failed during a four-day regional tour to make headway in brokering a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks.
