Ghassan Charbel

I feel the weight of geography every time I visit Amman. Jordan’s fate is to adapt to it. This is difficult when your neighbor’s name is Menachem Begin, Ariel Sharon, or Benjamin Netanyahu, when your other neighbors happen to be Saddam Hussein, with his wars and recklessness, and then the factions,…

I asked a friend, a diplomat in Moscow, about the scale of Russian losses in Ukraine. He replied that discussing this matter is forbidden, and that the figure is considered a state secret. Russia is different from America, he explained. The mother of a soldier killed in the war, for example, does…

The world’s attention is fixed on the Strait of Hormuz, which may have become the most famous hostage in history. Blockage of this artery would make the global economy gravely ill. That is why Iran is demanding the heftiest ransom in history for its release. It is also why it could be said that the…

A memorandum of understanding is not a wedding invitation. It is neither a declaration of victory nor a surrender. Many devils will arise once the table expands to address the details. The negotiators will swallow doses of poison on behalf of those whom they represent, if they choose not to resume…

Did the “Khomeinist Revolution” task its country with a mission beyond its capacities when it decided on the policy of expelling the “Great Satan” from the Middle East? Is it now paying the price for provoking the American heavyweight who, over past decades, has absorbed blows from the factions in…

The pains of the day gather in the night. The keeper of the seals sits alone. With exhaustion. With the mirror. With history. “Victory Day,” celebrations of Nazism’s defeat, were underwhelming. The attendance of foreign signatures was not befitting of Russia. He did not feel the powerful’s…

Putin's adviser warns that the world is on the cusp of the largest energy crisis in history. At first, it seemed like a severe, but contained, crisis that was confined to the Middle East. It quickly went much further, becoming an unprecedented quagmire when Iran raised enrichment to its maximum…

America, and so the world, are split. He inspires excitement in his supporters and the hatred of his opponents. His enemies are many, and his supporters are not few. Some say that his shadow weighs heavily on those who despise him - and that among them are those who dream of erasing him, that a…

Beating the drums of war could summon its return. It could also lead the hawks to offer concessions and ripen the conditions for a settlement. We are in the midst of a major crisis that could be more dangerous than any of the ailing Middle East’s wars. The parties constantly check their watches…

Donald Trump glances at his clock. He doesn’t like long wars. He realizes how dangerous they are. He knows a war is risky as midterm elections approach. He also doesn’t like to lose or even admit defeat. He believes that he was victorious in the war. Nothing remains but to translate the victory…