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      Michael Young

      Michael Young

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      Michael Young is a Lebanon affairs columnist for The National. He is the senior editor at the Malcolm H Kerr Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut, where he also edits Diwan, the blog of the Carnegie Middle East Programme. A former journalist, he is the author of 'The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life Struggle' (Simon and Schuster, 2010), selected by The Wall Street Journal as one of its 10 notable books for 2010.
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      Articles

      General Joseph Votel, the top US commander in the Middle East, at Al Tanf military outpost in Syria. Lolita Baldor / AP
      US and Turkey could influence the political outcome in Syria – if they put their differences behind them

      Agreeing common objectives with the Turks will help Americans push for Assad's departure

      CommentNovember 28, 2018
      Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, overshadowed politically by Hezbollah but a pillar of any economic recovery.
      The grinding path to forming a Lebanese government

      Hezbollah can see the wider regional implications of the process and is blocking Hariri at every turn

      CommentNovember 14, 2018
      Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is pushing to form a government, after months of indecision. EPA
      Hezbollah's role in a new Lebanese government causes a headache for Hariri

      New US legislation relating to the Iran-backed group casts a shadow over the future of bilateral relations

      CommentOctober 31, 2018
      Russian and Syrian forces stand guard near posters of presidents Vladimir Putin and Bashar Al Assad at the Abu Duhur crossing on the eastern edge of Idlib province / AFP
      Russia has exploited US failures to achieve greater power in the Middle East

      By virtue of its secondary status in the region compared to the US, Russia was able to be more flexible and reinforce ties with competing states to position itself as a mediator

      CommentOctober 17, 2018
      A man reads a paper at a Beirut newsstand. EPA-EFE/Wael Hamzeh
      The crisis of the Lebanese press highlights the unfulfilled promise of post-war Beirut

      The newly reconstructed city was supposed to embody a revitalised aspiration to modernity. Unfortunately, Lebanon has not easily lent itself to such an effort

      CommentOctober 03, 2018
      Saad Hariri speaks in front of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon after the presentation of its closing arguments. AFP/Bas Czerwinski
      Special Tribunal for Lebanon: no problems and no justice

      The investigation's efforts to not rock the boat have sold justice and a whole nation short

      CommentSeptember 19, 2018
      Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri speaks at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon on September 3. Mohamed Azakir / Reuters
      Lebanese politicians should avoid ruffling feathers in Washington by appeasing Hezbollah

      Donald Trump cut assistance to Pakistan and to the Palestinians and would not hesitate to do the same to Lebanon

      CommentSeptember 05, 2018
      Hezbollah supporters wave flags as they listen to the speech of leader Hassan Nasrallah via a giant screen in Beirut, Lebanon, to mark the 12th anniversary of the end of the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. Nabil Mounzer / EPA
      Targeting Lebanon's economy would only threaten Hezbollah's opposition

      Some have suggested US sanctions on Lebanon would curtail Hezbollah – but weakening the state would only fortify the group, writes Michael Young

      CommentAugust 22, 2018
      US President Donald Trump and Jared Kushner with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. Kobi Gideon / GPO via Getty
      Kushner is admitting the dispossession of Palestinians is a blemish on Israel’s claim to moral righteousness

      By sweeping the refugee question under the rug, the US envoy is implicitly acknowledging the continued subjugation of Palestinians negates any claim to a moral upper hand, writes Michael Young

      CommentAugust 08, 2018
      Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Al Hariri at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon. Mohamed Azakir / Reuters
      With no government three months after election, Hariri walks a tightrope

      The country is at a crossroads, with clashing agendas hampering an already difficult process, writes Michael Young

      CommentJuly 30, 2018
      Russia is banking on the promise of Syrian refugees leaving Europe and a slice of the profits will persuade the EU and US to fund the reconstruction of Syria. Abdulmonam Eassa/ AFP
      How Assad's opponents could end up funding Syria's reconstruction

      The Russians are aware reconstruction will be essential in solidifying Assad's rule and that neither they nor Iran have the money to do so on their own, writes Michael Young

      CommentJuly 28, 2018
      Donald Trump attends a Nato meeting in Brussels. EPA
      How Trump is using the same thought processes as Obama in the Middle East

      Both men want America out of the Middle East, writes Michael Young

      CommentJuly 11, 2018
      Rafik Hariri's assassination still haunts Lebanon / AFP
      Lebanon's Special Tribunal was supposed to represent an end to impunity for crimes

      Michael Young charts the troubling history of the investigation into Rafik Hariri's 2005 assassination

      CommentJune 13, 2018
      A Syrian woman baking bread outside at a refugee camp on the outskirts of the town of Zahle in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Joseph Eid / AFP
      With Law 10, Syrian refugees could face the indignity of bolstering Assad

      Assad aims to exacerbate social and economic crises in neighbouring countries and force them to normalise relations with Damascus, writes Michael Young

      CommentMay 31, 2018
      Most Lebanese will not provoke a civil war with Hezbollah in order to advance the goals of the militant group's foes in Israel or America / AFP
      The rise of Hezbollah is the price Lebanon has paid for a post-civil war order that handed control to Syria

      During the 1990s, foreign interactions with Lebanon were conducted through Damascus, the final decision-maker on Lebanese matters, writes Michael Young

      CommentMay 16, 2018
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