The Damage in Lebanon –
and Beyond

The idea that you can solve social and political problems militarily from the air is, on the face of it, ludicrous. The historical record is filled with the dead dreams of air power solutions to ground-based problems. But that stops no one. Just yesterday, for...

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Residents of Sidon Staying Put Amid the Bombing

SIDON, Lebanon - Residents of south Lebanon's biggest city and the refugees who have joined them are staying put despite warnings from Israel that it plans to bomb "Hezbollah rocket launching sites" in Sidon, according to the city's mayor. Sidon's normal...

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The End of Lebanon?

The UN Security Council resolution draft on Lebanon reflects a new stage of Western colonialism in the Middle East, and perhaps a historic precedent: for the first time, the UN Security Council – should the resolution draft be endorsed – breaches the...

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The Wisdom of Cutting and Running

"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, Know when to walk away, and know when to run." - Kenny Rogers, "The Gambler" (words by Don Schlitz) Given the fiasco of Iraq – the slide into outright civil war and the inability of the...

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The End of Illusions

If there were any remaining illusions about the purpose of Israel's war against Lebanon, the draft United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a "cessation of major hostilities" published over the weekend should finally dispel them. This entirely...

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The UN on Trial

Last week, thousands of angry demonstrators attacked United Nations headquarters in Beirut in an outpouring of grief, anger, and frustration at yet another Qana massacre. Although not a demonstrator herself, refugee Sawsan Ali from southern Lebanon said she wished the...

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Hezbollah Rides a New Popularity

BEIRUT - As the war in Lebanon approaches the one-month mark, and amid the destruction of much of Lebanon, Hezbollah appears to be gaining strength within the country and around the Arab world. The Israeli aim of widespread bombing of the Lebanese infrastructure in...

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Condi’s ‘New Middle East’

"Things are as they are, and their consequences will be what they will be. Why then should we seek to be deceived?" Columnist Stewart Alsop, dead now these 30 years, once closed a column with this quote from the philosopher Bishop Berkeley. His column, I believe, was...

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