World News Insights: Opinion Articles

From faraway Moscow, he looks into Damascus—the city whose keys and destinies of its people he once held. It is only natural that he rubs his eyes in disbelief. The scene is difficult to comprehend, let alone endure. He knows this place line by line. It is the chair his father sat on fifty-four…

Early this year, France’s center-right Republicans decided to move to a new home. After a decade of demoralizing defeats, the party vacated its headquarters for one closer to France’s National Assembly, hoping the move would bring a change in fortune. It was not to be. June brought disastrous…

A flood of criticism and demands has been directed at the new rulers of Syria, specifically Ahmed al-Sharaa, since Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia on December 8. This isn't a question of whether these criticisms are pertinent, most of them have no basis in fact. I will discuss some of these…

The UN agency entrusted with the protection and welfare of Palestine refugees for three-quarters of a century, UNRWA, which I lead, was always meant to be temporary. The conclusion of its mandate was foreseen at its establishment. The choice before us today is whether to jettison a decades-long…

In most government offices in Tehran the first thing a visitor encounters is a cardboard effigy of the late General Qassem Soleimani presented as “the greatest military commander in Islamic history.” Also labeled as “the martyr Haj Qassem,” his bust adorns public squares and sport stadiums in more…

The fall of the Baath Party’s totalitarian regime in Syria should be good news for the region and the world, as the fall of the despotic Baath regime in Iraq had been. Nonetheless, we must be cautious. Tyranny is a tragedy, but its downfall can bring other hardships if the situation is not managed…

In a column about the “Axis of Resistance” for "Al Majalla," my colleague Houssam Itani asks: "Who can think of a book written by a thinker or writer associated with the Axis that is worth reading?" To the lack of such a book, we could add the lack of any idea, poem, novel, painting, play, film,…

Everyone is searching for clues about the possible foreign policy of the new Damascus regime, especially concerning Iran. If it turns out to be against Iran, this would be a significant development and could potentially change the face of the region. The initial impressions suggest possibilities…

The collective West, led by the United States, is mistaken about Syria, again. The first mistake was their failure to help the Syrians overthrow Bashar al-Assad, who had been on the brink of falling before Iran and Russia intervened 13 years ago. The mistakes of the West, specifically those of the…

“Damascus overwhelms and overpowers,” as the Syrian saying goes. With the layers of civilization that have accumulated over the city (Aramean, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Ottoman, French, and beyond) it has enjoyed a unique ability to adapt and evolve for thousands of years, becoming a…

As the Syrian army fell like a house of cards in the face of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and on the eve of the Israeli attack that destroyed this army’s military infrastructure with the press of a button, the rejectionist camp in Lebanon continued to call for a "strong" army in Lebanon(!) and to insist…

Regardless of what one says, words remain inadequate for doing justice to the major shift that Syria has seen over the past week. The end of the Assad dynasty after over half a century is a significant development, very significant indeed. It will be even more significant and will endure longer…