An anti-government protester waves a Lebanese flag as he stands on top of a pile of broken tents (by pro-government thugs) on Martyrs’ Square on October 29. Image source: Sam Tarling/Getty Images At 4 PM on the 29th of October 2019, Saad Hariri resigned as Prime Minister of Lebanon. But how did we get there, and more importantly, where do we go from there? In this post, I follow the Lebanese October Revolution day by day, event by event, trying to decipher how a tax protest grew into a nationwide revolution, brought down a government, shook an entire political class out of its throne, struggle ..read more

A tree burns in Mechref south Beirut, Lebanon, 15 October 2019. Is it the tree that ignited the revolution? Source: EPA-EFE/WAEL HAMZEH – On the 18th of October 2019, Saad El Hariri gave a speech that would arguably define his 3rd term as Prime Minister: Surrounded by heavy and ongoing protests in Riad El Solh and martyrs square, he gave himself 72 hours to find a solution to the crisis. But how did we exactly get here? An unproductive July ends – 72 Days to the 17th of October On the first of August, President Aoun warned the Lebanese about a looming economic crisis, describing it as the b ..read more

Bombshell from the Battle of Arsal, offered to Bassil from Hezbollah in order to be used as a Vase – May 2019 “The Lebanese Government resigned today after two days of nationwide riots over the worst economic crisis the country has experienced in years. The Prime Minister announced his resignation here after angry demonstrators tried to storm his residence and the neighboring villa of the President. Soldiers and policemen guarding the officials fired over the heads of the protesters to disperse them. Big clouds of black smoke hung over Beirut after thousands of demonstrators burned rubber tir ..read more

Meet the new Lebanese Cabinet You take a newspaper. You read a headline. Berri is Speaker of the Parliament. Elie Ferzli is deputy Speaker of the Parliament. A politician with the last name “Hariri” is Prime Minister. It says that the Lebanese President is Pro-Syrian. It says that the President’s relatives are now members of the parliament. Is it the year 2000? Is this a dream? Did we finally discover time travel? You are confused, so you decide to read another article. It says that Ali Hassan Khalil is now minister of Finance. You are even more confused. Surely, it must be February 2014? Or ..read more

We know them. We know their civil wars. We know that they would burn a parliament to the ground in their quest to rule a country. We know them. The last time I wrote on this blog, in November 2017, I  blogged – in disgust – that Lebanon as whole is a country that is a hostage of Saudi-Iranian politics.  When a Lebanese Prime-Minister resigns under pressure from Riyadh while Iran tries to make use of that resignation, know that the “independent” Lebanese Republic in 2017 and 2018 is no more independent than the Lebanese republic was under the French Mandate in the 1930s ..read more

A screen grab from Hariri’s resignation speech delivered from Saudi Arabia on Nov. 4, 2017. (Image source: The Daily Star) On the 11th of November 1943, French forces raided the houses of several Lebanese officials, including the President Bechara Khoury and his Prime Minister Riad Solh, three days after the Lebanese Parliament had unilaterally abolished the French mandate in Lebanon. Emile Edde was appointed as President, the parliament was dissolved, and Lebanon’s leaders were arrested and imprisoned in the Rashaya citadel. France eventually yielded to Lebanese and international ..read more

PM Saad Hariri with Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil and two other government officials at the Grand Serail. Friday, February 17, 2017. (Image source: The Daily Star). As Lebanese parties start their drama ahead of next year’s planned elections, this picture is here to remind you of the hypocrisy of Lebanese politics. On the 4th of November 2017, one year after he was named Prime Minister (on the 3rd of November 2016), and in what might be the most unpredictable political stance of 2017, Prime Minister Saad Hariri unexpectedly resigned from his post of Prime Minister, citing Iranian interferen ..read more

An anti-government protester waves a Lebanese flag as he stands on top of a pile of broken tents (by pro-government thugs) on Martyrs’ Square on October 29. Image source: Sam Tarling/Getty Images At 4 PM on the 29th of October 2019, Saad Hariri resigned as Prime Minister of Lebanon. But how did we get there, and more importantly, where do we go from there? In this post, I follow the Lebanese October Revolution day by day, event by event, trying to decipher how a tax protest grew into a nationwide revolution, brought down a government, shook an entire political class out of its throne, struggl ..read more

A tree burns in Mechref south Beirut, Lebanon, 15 October 2019. Is it the tree that ignited the revolution? Source: EPA-EFE/WAEL HAMZEH – On the 18th of October 2019, Saad El Hariri gave a speech that would arguably define his 3rd term as Prime Minister: Surrounded by heavy and ongoing protests in Riad El Solh and martyrs square, he gave himself 72 hours to find a solution to the crisis. But how did we exactly get here? An unproductive July ends – 72 Days to the 17th of October On the first of August, President Aoun warned the Lebanese about a looming economic crisis, describing it as ..read more

Bombshell from the Battle of Arsal, offered to Bassil from Hezbollah in order to be used as a Vase – May 2019 “The Lebanese Government resigned today after two days of nationwide riots over the worst economic crisis the country has experienced in years. The Prime Minister announced his resignation here after angry demonstrators tried to storm his residence and the neighboring villa of the President. Soldiers and policemen guarding the officials fired over the heads of the protesters to disperse them. Big clouds of black smoke hung over Beirut after thousands of demonstrators burned rubber ..read more