The constitutional deadline is now respected! This is the most popular phrase in Lebanon. It is repeated by diplomatic and political representatives, journalists and citizens. We are less than three months away from Thursday, May 10, the date set for parliamentary elections! No previous…

Some friends, as they were commenting on the 2009 parliamentary election results, reminded me that Hezbollah “broke its promise… ‘whoever wins should rule’.” Instead, it imposed its blocking third on the first government formed after the elections, only to topple it the moment the head of that…

Speaking to a panel of scholars, French Envoy Dukan described the manner in which the Lebanese political class has dealt with the great financial, as well as economic and social, collapse as being apathetic, as though it were happening in another country. He warned his interlocutors that the…

Today (Thursday), the countdown starts for the 340 days left for Lebanon's presidential term. As the declaration of the state of Greater Lebanon enters its second century, many Lebanese shares the view that there is no need to commemorate independence that is being squandered. There is also no need…

Hezbollah’s approach to dealing with the investigation into the explosion that struck the port and the capital, most recently manifested in the events of “Black Thursday” seen on the 14th and its implications, has been marked by extreme arbitrariness and arrogance. Claims are always presented as…

All the Lebanese are faced with a TV series, with the bogus lawsuits aimed at removing Judge Tarek Bitar being filed in succession. The lead investigator into the Beirut port blast crime is facing off against governmental and political interference and Hezbollah’s threats of “removing him,” the…

The balances of power in the region are shifting as new alliances advance and others recede. Each faction has its own reading of these developments, and so they strive to push things in the direction they see as serving their interests. Every decision-maker is worried about the region’s…

As of this Thursday, September 2, 389 days have gone since Lebanon last had a government. The August 4 Beirut blast had toppled Hassan Diab's government by the tenth of that month. And those who were designated to form an alternative government have been made to fail: Mustapha Adib and Saad al…

As the first anniversary of the August 4 crime draws closer, scenes from the catastrophic explosion that struck Beirut invariably come to mind. And with the approach of this day, glaring questions return to mind: Why was the capital targeted? For what reason? Who is responsible for the largest…

Nearly 20 days before the eve of the first anniversary of the Beirut port explosion that destroyed the city on August 4th, 2020, Investigative Judge Tarek Bitar continues to take advanced judicial measures that are met with popular approval and embrace. Despite all the difficulties, Judge Bitar’s…