Beirut is anything but a stranger to violence, yet the world (and even some Lebanese) have gotten used to Beirut being a synonym for bombs and destruction. However, when the violence hits other parts of the world, the world listens more closely, condemns more strongly and pledges to fight the source of this terror with even greater resolve. Continue reading “Light a Candle for Beirut…. and the World”
What Went Wrong in Libya? Everything.
Whether it is the rule of militias, the rising influence of the Islamic State (IS – Daesh) or the tragic fate of migrants fleeing the scourge of war off its coast, Libya is once again in the international headlines. Then again, Libya has always been newsworthy, but there always seems to be something else overshadowing it. Continue reading “What Went Wrong in Libya? Everything.”
Time to Re-Evaluate the War against Daesh
We all knew that Daesh was capable of horrible things. However, the death by burning to which Jordanian pilot Moaz al Kasasbeh was subjected to broke through a morbid threshold I believe very few of us, if any, thought would happen. This isn’t to say that the other killing methods (decapitation, execution, drowning, etc..) used by the so-called Islamic State are any less brutal. But we dealt with them by exercising a degree of denial, if only because of the sheer number of times they have and continue to occur and more importantly, as a coping mechanism to deal with the horrors of Daesh at our doorsteps. Continue reading “Time to Re-Evaluate the War against Daesh”
Je suis, Je ne suis pas, Je ne sais plus…
What happened at the offices and surroundings of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo on January 7 in Paris was cold-blooded murder. This tragic incident unleashed a somewhat unprecedented reaction on world news and social media, or maybe it’s just the news junkie and social media addict in me that felt bombarded by all of it at once. Some have been targeted reactions and commentaries, while others were ‘all over the place,’ which goes to show the mixed feelings that were triggered. Continue reading “Je suis, Je ne suis pas, Je ne sais plus…”
“The West will never understand Iraq’s complex landscape”
It is heartbreaking to watch a country fall apart and become accustomed to its cities becoming synonymous with war itself. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, this has been the fate of Iraq. Sadly, recurrent violence in Iraq and the eruption of wars elsewhere, such as Syria, have also pushed the Iraqi story away from the front pages of the world’s news.
Continue reading ““The West will never understand Iraq’s complex landscape””
This is Tripoli
Last week, Tripoli was a war zone. Today, it is a city like any other.
Last week, Tripoli seemed a world apart from the rest of Lebanon. Today, some decided to bring it a bit closer to where it belongs, back to rest of Lebanon…
Operation X
Almost two months since the U.S. started bombing Islamic State (IS) targets in Iraq, less than a week since the U.S.-led offensive in Syria for the same purpose, and the operation appears to be nameless.
N for Nasrani
During a trip to Jordan in 2008, I visited the site where it is believed that Jesus Christ was baptized. As I headed to the banks of the Jordan River, a group of women solemnly made their way back from the pilgrimage. They were clearly Christian, given the particular headscarf they wore and prayers they whispered. They prayed in silence but with a passion and fervor that was hard not to notice. Continue reading “N for Nasrani”
Lebanon and the Caliphate
There is a slightly deranged rooster in my neighborhood. For over three weeks now, the bird has been crowing at every hour except dawn. At first, we thought it was joking or suffering from a severe case of jet-lag, cock-a-doodle-dooing to a different time zone. Or maybe it was trying, still trying, to tell us something loud and clear…that the Caliphate was here. Continue reading “Lebanon and the Caliphate”
Eye on the East 