Tag Archives: Lebanon

Notes from a Long War – Israel, a year on from October 7

Posted on October 10, 2024 by jonathanspyer

The Australian, 6/10 ‘We have sat, an easy generation, in houses held to be indestructible,’ wrote the German poet Bertolt Brecht, of himself and his countrymen, in 1925.  These words have returned to me on a number of occasions in … Continue reading →

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A Historic Moment: Hassan Nasrallah’s Killing is a Severe Blow  to the Iran-led Axis

Posted on September 29, 2024 by jonathanspyer

Spectator Online, 28/9 The killing of Lebanese Hizballah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah by Israel in Beirut on Friday September 27 is a strategic event,  transcending the immediate context of the Israel-Hizballah confrontation under way since October 8, 2023.    Nasrallah was … Continue reading →

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Israel Seeks to Drive a Wedge between Hamas and Hizballah

Posted on September 25, 2024 by jonathanspyer

The Spectator, 24/9 Israel this week carried out its largest scale operation against Hizballah targets on Lebanon since the summer war of 2006.  Wave after wave, Israeli aircraft struck at 1600 targets across Lebanon, with the emphasis on targeting Hizballah … Continue reading →

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War Across the Borders

Posted on March 29, 2014 by jonathanspyer

PJmedia, 28/3 It has become a commonplace to claim that the unrest in the Arab world is challenging the state borders laid down in the Arab world following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. This claim, however, is … Continue reading →

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War across the borders – one sectarian war in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon

Posted on February 16, 2014 by jonathanspyer

 A version of this article appeared in the February 2014 issue of Tower magazine: A single sectarian war is currently under way across the Middle East.  This war has a number of fronts, some more intense and active than others.  … Continue reading →

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War over the Ruins

Posted on March 8, 2013 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post, 8/3. The Syrian civil war bursts its banks This week, 48 Syrian soldiers who were reported as having ‘sought refuge’ in Iraq were ambushed and killed on Iraqi soil. At least 9, and possibly as many as 19 … Continue reading →

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Silence Speaks Volumes

Posted on August 20, 2012 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post, 17/8. Lebanon’s former information minister, Michel Samaha, who is closely linked to the embattled regime of Bashar Assad in Syria, was arrested in Lebanon last week. Samaha has since confessed to involvement in the transfer of explosives from … Continue reading →

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Sunni Islamism Stirs in Lebanon

Posted on July 7, 2012 by jonathanspyer

As the civil war in Syria grinds on and assumes an increasingly sectarian character, echoes of the strife are being heard across the border in Lebanon. The main beneficiary of the Arab uprisings of the last year has been Sunni … Continue reading →

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Re-Packaging Illusion

Posted on April 5, 2011 by jonathanspyer

28/03/2010 The Obama administration’s approach to the Middle East is characterized by an apparent desire to revive the sunny illusions of the 1990s peace process – in an era that is far more uncertain and dangerous. This is particularly noticeable … Continue reading →

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The West Should Use Resolution 1701 to Roll Back Hizbullah’s Effective Take-over of the Lebanese Government

Posted on April 5, 2011 by jonathanspyer

22/04/2010 The summoning by the United States of Syrian Deputy Chief of Mission Zouheir Jabbour for a review of Syrian arms transfers to Hizbullah is the latest evidence of the serious basis to the recent tensions in the north. Syria … Continue reading →

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