Ghassan Charbel
Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper
Interviews  The trial of Saddam and the senior officers of his regime (Getty)

Allawi Recounts Assassination Attempt, Says They Sneaked into Morgue to Check his Body

In the seventies, two young men left Iraq to escape from then-deputy Saddam Hussein and his murderous security machine. The first is Nouri al-Maliki, a member…

Ghassan Charbel (London)
Interviews Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi during his interview with Editor-in-Chief Ghassan Charbel (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Allawi: I Refused to See Saddam Detained by the Occupation

How difficult it is to talk about Saddam Hussein, despite the distance that separates us from the date of his execution, on Dec. 30, 2006. The truth is that…

Ghassan Charbel (London)
Features Arafat is seen at the frontline in Beirut’s southern suburbs. (Getty Images)

Arafat Refused to Credit Syria for Palestinian Resistance’s ‘Victory’ against 1982 Israeli Invasion of Beirut

The summer of 1982 was turbulent in Beirut and for the Palestinian resistance. Besieged by Israeli forces, the Palestinian resistance in the Lebanese capital…

Ghassan Charbel (London)
Features Arafat on the front lines of fighting in Beirut (Getty)

Saudi Initiative to Prevent an Israeli Invasion Collided with Soviet Rejection

As part of the reports published by Asharq Al-Awsat on the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the summer of 1982, Hani Al-Hassan, a member of the Central…

Ghassan Charbel (London)
Features Smoke billows from strikes during the Israeli invasion of Beirut in 1982. (Getty Images)

Arafat Chose to Fight for 6 Months... Moscow’s Position Was his Greatest Disappointment 

On this day in 1982, Beirut was besieged by the Israeli army and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat boarded a ship that took him to his new exile in Tunisia. The…

Ghassan Charbel (London)
Features Colonel Gaddafi alongside Arab leaders, including President Hosni Mubarak, President Chadli Bendjedid and King Hassan II, during the inauguration of a reservoir for the waters of the Great Man-made River in Suluq, south of Benghazi in 1991. (Getty Images)

Boueiz: Rift with Gaddafi, Saddam due to Provocative Message, Assassination Plot

When President Elias Hrawi assumed office, Lebanon was facing severe challenges, with a fragmented state and crumbling institutions. Despite the circumstances…

Ghassan Charbel (Beirut)
Arab World Hrawi receiving US Secretary of State James Baker in the city of Zahle (Fares Boueiz Archive)

Boueiz: In Madrid, Bush Tried to Persuade Me to Negotiate with Shamir, but I Refused

When Elias Hrawi was elected president of the Lebanese Republic in November 1989, following the assassination of President Rene Mouawad, he found before him a…

Ghassan Charbel (Beirut)
Arab World Michel Aoun is seen at the presidential palace in 1989. (Getty Images)

Lebanese Ex-FM to Asharq Al-Awsat: With Western Support, Hafez Assad Ended Aoun’s Mutiny 

Lebanese former Foreign Minister Farez Boueiz recalled to Asharq Al-Awsat the hectic period towards the end of the 1975-90 Lebanese civil war over Elias Hrawi…

Ghassan Charbel (Beirut)