Bring it Aoun!

For those of you haven’t already checked it out, you should go read my friend Elias’s piece on the Tayyar, Bring it Aoun. As is always the case with anything Elias writes, it’s thoughtful, well researched and a good read.

Which brings me to another point: I think Lebanon watchers in the Anglophone press would do well to start familiarizing themselves with Aoun and the Tayyar, because in the American press anyway (there seems to be more about him in the French media) he is kind of an unknown quantity. This likely has a lot to do with the sensationalism and sexiness of writing about Hezbollah, which has more brand recognition outside of Lebanon and certainly sounds more dangerous.

In any case, if the elections go the way I think they will, I have a feeling that a lot of “experts” on the region are going to wake up on Monday realizing that they don’t know much about the biggest party in parliament. Or maybe I’m giving the US media too much credit, and we’ll have a bunch of stupid stories like “OMG Hezbollah Now in the Government!!!”

That being said, anyone who’s interested in a nuanced look at Lebanese politics should really pay attention to Elias and his blog, Qifa Nabki. To do otherwise would be a serious lapse in judgement. And just so we’re clear, I am not plugging Elias just because he’s my friend. He doesn’t need my plugs (or my measley hundred hits a day, hah!). I’m doing this as a public service announcement.

About these ads