Chamoun: Syria-Israel war is imminent

Dory Chamoun: “The situation in the Middle East is not going to remain as it is. There will be a mock-up war between Syria and Israel. And at the same time Israel will take the advantage to beat up Hezbollah. This time they will fight in the Bekaa Valley. This is a scenario that I see unfolding.”

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Politics & Policies: Can there be a victor?

by CLAUDE SALHANI (Editor, Middle East Times)

Replying to a column published yesterday on the precarious situation in “Middle East Democracy and Mideast headcount,” one reader made the following comment: “I would suggest that any war artificially ended before a clear victor and a clear loser emerge will reignite…. What did people think was going to happen when they forced Israel to halt its drubbing of Hezbollah two summers ago before they were done? Germany waited a couple of decades…doubtful Iran will.” In theory the writer is correct in her analysis; but as anyone who has studied theory quickly realizes, applying theory to practice is not always realistic, or necessarily the most intelligent approach.

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Islam and American politics

By CLAUDE SALHANI (Editor, Middle East Times)

The 2008 presidential elections in the United States have brought three topics which our parents repeatedly told us should not, under any circumstances, be discussed in polite company: sex, race and religion. But with a woman, an African American – with rumors that he might be Muslim – running for president of the United States, all three issues have surfaced and have become the topic of great debate. The controversy surrounding Illinois Senator Barack Obama having allegedly attended a “madrassa” and the fact that he might have been a Muslim has put both the candidate and Islam on the center stage of American politics.

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