Iraq will be going through a delicate phase in terms of security until a consensus is reached by competing coalitions over the Prime Minister, a consensus that might in turn be one of the “surprises” and outcomes of the recent elections. Because gradual – not complete – stability is part of the cycle of justifications for US military presence in Iraq, the personality of the Prime Minister is important, not just for the Iraqis, but also for the regional players as well as the great powers, for strategic and oil-related reasons.

The confrontations between the Palestinian youths and the occupation forces in Jerusalem brought forward the aficionados of white and black questions: Is it the outset of a third intifada or is it not an intifada at all? In fact, they had excessively discussed the question of the war a few days before the new question surfaced.

I’m not too enthusiastic about the performance of the President of the Republic General Michel Sleiman. Nothing makes me want to defend him. His mandate is initially flawed by its difficult birth conditions. It hangs between the Taef and the Doha agreements. Neither did the former fully surrender nor did the latter curb its appetite. It is a mandate that hangs between two generals: Sleiman cannot be Michel Aoun. He lacks two wars, the ability to attract crowds, and a definite talent in leading at crossroads.

Syrian-Lebanese relations are headed for a period of testing, after a series of developments in recent months. The new element is the resumption of relations between Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt and the Syrian leadership during an imminent visit by Jumblatt to Damascus, expected in the coming days.

What Israel is doing to speed up the plans of Judaizing East Jerusalem and displacing the Arabs from there does not require an accurate description that takes into account any “diplomatic language”. This applies to the relation between US President Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu’s Government, which “insulted” his Deputy Joe Biden, before US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hurried to prove “good intentions”.

The recent parliamentary elections in Iraq raise the possibility that Iraq might be on the long and difficult road toward stability. The road will not be without risk or setbacks, and Iraq might lose its way and descend into civil war or dismemberment; but if recent trends continue, Iraq might make it, within five to ten years, as a stable, prosperous, influential and semi-democratic state in the heart of the Arab and Muslim world. Such a development would be a historic event in the Middle East and would have a transformative effect.

In an interview with a Lebanese newspaper about a year ago, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad asserted that major countries, most prominently the United States and France, took in 2003, with the start of the US invasion of Iraq, the decision to drive Syria out of Lebanon, before UN Resolution 1559 was issued in 2004 and before the assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005.

In an interview with a Lebanese newspaper about a year ago, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad asserted that major countries, most prominently the United States and France, took in 2003, with the start of the US invasion of Iraq, the decision to drive Syria out of Lebanon, before UN Resolution 1559 was issued in 2004 and before the assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005.

OPEC is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its establishment in September of this year. Today, OPEC ministers in Vienna will open a new General Secretariat, five decades after the establishment of the organization, one that has changed and become a tool of stability in world oil markets and protecting the financial resources of developing countries. Some of these countries have benefited from these resources in development, and others have wasted them on failed policies and revolutions. However, the organization has managed to survive despite the wars between its members.

In the context of the relationship between the Lebanese Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt and the government in Syria, something calls for pondering the possibility of the rise of a state in Lebanon. This means that the institutions of this state become the decision-maker when it comes to foreign policy in general and the Arab one in particular. Moreover, the invitation of Lebanon to attend the Arab Summit in Libya confirms the urgency of this question.