A few thoughts on the arrest of Nouh Zaiter, a major event in Lebanon today, amid all the other news.
November 21, 2025 at 7:08 AM
A few thoughts on the arrest of Nouh Zaiter, a major event in Lebanon today, amid all the other news.
“Noah Zaitar was the face of impunity in Lebanon, a drug trafficker who appeared openly in television interviews and made public appearances without ever being arrested,” said Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.
on.ft.com/3X8nVQR
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Lebanon arrests alleged drug lord linked to Hizbollah
[FREE TO READ] Noah Zaitar, sanctioned by US over ties with Shia militant group and Syria’s Assad regime, detained in crackdown
on.ft.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:55 PM
“Noah Zaitar was the face of impunity in Lebanon, a drug trafficker who appeared openly in television interviews and made public appearances without ever being arrested,” said Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.
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on.ft.com/3X8nVQR
Reposted by Mohanad Hage Ali
In the @mideast.csis.org 's newest Babel episode, Jon Alterman speaks with
@mohanad.bsky.social about how Hezbollah's involvement in drug trade networks has evolved over recent years.
It's a special episode, and Mona Yacoubian's first Babel appearance. Tune in:
www.csis.org/podcasts/bab...
@mohanad.bsky.social about how Hezbollah's involvement in drug trade networks has evolved over recent years.
It's a special episode, and Mona Yacoubian's first Babel appearance. Tune in:
www.csis.org/podcasts/bab...
Mohanad Hage Ali: Hezbollah and the Captagon Trade | Babel: Translating the Middle East | CSIS Podcasts
Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Mohanad Hage Ali, deputy director for research at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Together, they discuss Hezbollah’s involvement in these drug networks, as…
www.csis.org
May 16, 2025 at 1:11 PM
In the @mideast.csis.org 's newest Babel episode, Jon Alterman speaks with
@mohanad.bsky.social about how Hezbollah's involvement in drug trade networks has evolved over recent years.
It's a special episode, and Mona Yacoubian's first Babel appearance. Tune in:
www.csis.org/podcasts/bab...
@mohanad.bsky.social about how Hezbollah's involvement in drug trade networks has evolved over recent years.
It's a special episode, and Mona Yacoubian's first Babel appearance. Tune in:
www.csis.org/podcasts/bab...
Reposted by Mohanad Hage Ali
Day 600 missing Daddy
#BringOmriHome to Roni and Alma and Lishay while there’s still time.
End this cruel neglect and abandonment, as you call for aid into Gaza, you must not neglect the remaining hostages held in the most hellish conditions.
#BringThemAllHomeNow 🎗️
Stay alive Omri. Survive.
#BringOmriHome to Roni and Alma and Lishay while there’s still time.
End this cruel neglect and abandonment, as you call for aid into Gaza, you must not neglect the remaining hostages held in the most hellish conditions.
#BringThemAllHomeNow 🎗️
Stay alive Omri. Survive.
May 28, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Day 600 missing Daddy
#BringOmriHome to Roni and Alma and Lishay while there’s still time.
End this cruel neglect and abandonment, as you call for aid into Gaza, you must not neglect the remaining hostages held in the most hellish conditions.
#BringThemAllHomeNow 🎗️
Stay alive Omri. Survive.
#BringOmriHome to Roni and Alma and Lishay while there’s still time.
End this cruel neglect and abandonment, as you call for aid into Gaza, you must not neglect the remaining hostages held in the most hellish conditions.
#BringThemAllHomeNow 🎗️
Stay alive Omri. Survive.
Great to see PM Nawaf Salam announce the start of the cannabis commission formation process (for medical use), a key recommendation in my @CarnegieMEC paper earlier this year.
News: nna-leb.gov.lb/en/politics/77…
Paper: carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
News: nna-leb.gov.lb/en/politics/77…
Paper: carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
Double Dealers: Lebanon and the Risks of Captagon Trafficking
Lebanon’s financial collapse and the Syrian conflict have allowed for the growth of an illicit economy, giving rise to a new breed of drug traffickers with ties to Lebanese parties and influence in th...
carnegieendowment.org
May 12, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Great to see PM Nawaf Salam announce the start of the cannabis commission formation process (for medical use), a key recommendation in my @CarnegieMEC paper earlier this year.
News: nna-leb.gov.lb/en/politics/77…
Paper: carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
News: nna-leb.gov.lb/en/politics/77…
Paper: carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
Reposted by Mohanad Hage Ali
In the 2nd panel of the “War and Peace in the 21st Century” conference, Merissa Khurma, @mohanad.bsky.social, Sanam Vakil and Gérard Araud analysed how the international community can promote dialogue and solutions to a lasting peace in the Middle East #WP2025
April 5, 2025 at 5:20 PM
In the 2nd panel of the “War and Peace in the 21st Century” conference, Merissa Khurma, @mohanad.bsky.social, Sanam Vakil and Gérard Araud analysed how the international community can promote dialogue and solutions to a lasting peace in the Middle East #WP2025
Reposted by Mohanad Hage Ali
“The war in Lebanon came on top of half a decade of financial and economic crises, and was accompanied by a new geopolitical reality,” @mohanad.bsky.social, Deputy Director for Research at @carnegiemec.bsky.social, discussed the sociopolitical situation in Lebanon after Israel's attacks #WP2025
April 5, 2025 at 5:20 PM
“The war in Lebanon came on top of half a decade of financial and economic crises, and was accompanied by a new geopolitical reality,” @mohanad.bsky.social, Deputy Director for Research at @carnegiemec.bsky.social, discussed the sociopolitical situation in Lebanon after Israel's attacks #WP2025
Reposted by Mohanad Hage Ali
Analysts, experts and diplomats told me Israel wants Lebanon and Syria to stay weak and divided. They feel they can manage the chaos via their military and technological superiority.
featuring @aronlund.bsky.social @ayoub.bsky.social @mohanad.bsky.social
www.aljazeera.com/features/202...
featuring @aronlund.bsky.social @ayoub.bsky.social @mohanad.bsky.social
www.aljazeera.com/features/202...
Israel pushes on with strategy to keep neighbours weak in Lebanon and Syria
Israel has repeatedly bombed both Syria and Lebanon, experts say it is no mood for peace.
www.aljazeera.com
April 9, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Analysts, experts and diplomats told me Israel wants Lebanon and Syria to stay weak and divided. They feel they can manage the chaos via their military and technological superiority.
featuring @aronlund.bsky.social @ayoub.bsky.social @mohanad.bsky.social
www.aljazeera.com/features/202...
featuring @aronlund.bsky.social @ayoub.bsky.social @mohanad.bsky.social
www.aljazeera.com/features/202...
واضح اليوم ان صدورا كثيرة تضيق برئيس الحكومة نواف سلام وخياراته السياسية. لكن المفاجئ أن واشنطن باتت اليوم ممن يسارع لانتقاده
April 2, 2025 at 8:27 PM
واضح اليوم ان صدورا كثيرة تضيق برئيس الحكومة نواف سلام وخياراته السياسية. لكن المفاجئ أن واشنطن باتت اليوم ممن يسارع لانتقاده
Reposted by Mohanad Hage Ali
Interesting 🧵 worth the read, especially in connection to recent events at the Syrian-Lebaneese borders
#Lebanon
#Lebanon
🚨 Thread: Lebanon’s Captagon Networks & Their Political Implications 🚨
My latest paper explores how Captagon trafficking fuels power structures in Lebanon. Three key takeaways: 🧵👇
My latest paper explores how Captagon trafficking fuels power structures in Lebanon. Three key takeaways: 🧵👇
March 20, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Interesting 🧵 worth the read, especially in connection to recent events at the Syrian-Lebaneese borders
#Lebanon
#Lebanon
Reposted by Mohanad Hage Ali
@mohanad.bsky.social delves into how the conflict in #Syria allowed for the emergence of #captagon traffickers in #Lebanon in this excellent report.
Double Dealers: Lebanon and the Risks of Captagon Trafficking
Lebanon’s financial collapse and the Syrian conflict have allowed for the growth of an illicit economy, giving rise to a new breed of drug traffickers with ties to Lebanese parties and influence in…
carnegieendowment.org
March 21, 2025 at 6:54 PM
@mohanad.bsky.social delves into how the conflict in #Syria allowed for the emergence of #captagon traffickers in #Lebanon in this excellent report.
🚨 Thread: Lebanon’s Captagon Networks & Their Political Implications 🚨
My latest paper explores how Captagon trafficking fuels power structures in Lebanon. Three key takeaways: 🧵👇
My latest paper explores how Captagon trafficking fuels power structures in Lebanon. Three key takeaways: 🧵👇
March 19, 2025 at 5:37 PM
🚨 Thread: Lebanon’s Captagon Networks & Their Political Implications 🚨
My latest paper explores how Captagon trafficking fuels power structures in Lebanon. Three key takeaways: 🧵👇
My latest paper explores how Captagon trafficking fuels power structures in Lebanon. Three key takeaways: 🧵👇
Nir Oz and Nahal Oz are names engraved in sadness and grief. Nothing justifies Hamas’s crimes there.
“Kibbutz Nir Oz announces with deep pain and sorrow the murder of the late Itzik Elgert, who was kidnapped from his home on the kibbutz on Saturday, October 7th, and murdered in captivity in Gaza.”
יהי זכרו ברוך
יהי זכרו ברוך
February 27, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Nir Oz and Nahal Oz are names engraved in sadness and grief. Nothing justifies Hamas’s crimes there.
جيد أن هذه الحكومة حصلت على الثقة وبدأ عداد العمل فيها. لكن على هذه السنة المقبلة أن تكون مثمرة ومؤشراً لمسار مختلف لو قيض للبلد أن يسلكه. السنوات الماضية اتسمت بقدر هائل من القسوة والعنف واللامبالاة بحق الناس على أيدي الطبقة السياسية، ولا بأس ببعض الضوء في نهاية نفق مظلم طويل.
February 26, 2025 at 10:51 AM
جيد أن هذه الحكومة حصلت على الثقة وبدأ عداد العمل فيها. لكن على هذه السنة المقبلة أن تكون مثمرة ومؤشراً لمسار مختلف لو قيض للبلد أن يسلكه. السنوات الماضية اتسمت بقدر هائل من القسوة والعنف واللامبالاة بحق الناس على أيدي الطبقة السياسية، ولا بأس ببعض الضوء في نهاية نفق مظلم طويل.
سريالي اصرار الثنائي على اسم إضافي هنا او هناك، فيما يتوالى القصف الاسرائيلي والخروقات الفاضحة للاتفاق، على وقع اشتباكات الحدود اللبنانية السورية، ناهيك عن الأزمة الاقتصادية الخانقة. الحفاظ على السلاح يبقى اهم من الناس وأرواحهم وممتلكاتهم ومستقبلهم، هذه الحقيقة المرة التي علينا تجرعها عند كل استحقاق
February 7, 2025 at 7:31 PM
سريالي اصرار الثنائي على اسم إضافي هنا او هناك، فيما يتوالى القصف الاسرائيلي والخروقات الفاضحة للاتفاق، على وقع اشتباكات الحدود اللبنانية السورية، ناهيك عن الأزمة الاقتصادية الخانقة. الحفاظ على السلاح يبقى اهم من الناس وأرواحهم وممتلكاتهم ومستقبلهم، هذه الحقيقة المرة التي علينا تجرعها عند كل استحقاق
Reposted by Mohanad Hage Ali
AP’s Bassem Mroue investigates the state of Syria’s near-extinct Jewish community, now numbering nine individuals.
@bmroue.bsky.social
@apnews.com
abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
@bmroue.bsky.social
@apnews.com
abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
Syria's dwindling Jewish community can visit one of the world's oldest synagogues again
Syria's civil war left one of the world's oldest synagogues partially destroyed
abcnews.go.com
December 30, 2024 at 9:14 PM
AP’s Bassem Mroue investigates the state of Syria’s near-extinct Jewish community, now numbering nine individuals.
@bmroue.bsky.social
@apnews.com
abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
@bmroue.bsky.social
@apnews.com
abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
A half apology
Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to the leader of Azerbaijan after a passenger plane crashed in Kazakhstan for the “tragic incident” that occurred in Russian airspace, the Kremlin said Saturday.
Putin apologizes to Azerbaijan’s leader after passenger plane crash
Putin apologized for the “tragic incident” that occurred in Russian airspace, but the Kremlin did not take responsibility for downing the Azerbaijan Airlines flight.
wapo.st
December 28, 2024 at 3:09 PM
A half apology
Some anxious Syrians in Damascus are reflecting on the next phase, saying it’s hard to imagine an era both worse and longer than the current one, a bittersweet consolation, perhaps.
“We really haven't seen anything quite like this since the Nazis," said Rapp, who led prosecutions at the Rwanda and Sierra Leone war crimes tribunals” www.reuters.com/world/middle...
Syrian mass graves expose "machinery of death" under Assad, top prosecutor says
An international war crimes prosecutor said on Tuesday that evidence emerging from mass grave sites in Syria has exposed a state-run "machinery of death" under toppled leader Bashar al-Assad in which he estimated more than 100,000 people were tortured and murdered since 2013.
www.reuters.com
December 18, 2024 at 9:17 AM
Some anxious Syrians in Damascus are reflecting on the next phase, saying it’s hard to imagine an era both worse and longer than the current one, a bittersweet consolation, perhaps.
Israel and Saudi Arabia reach normalization breakthrough, clearing path for hostage deal
Israel and Saudi Arabia reach normalization breakthrough, clearing path for hostage deal www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Israel and Saudi Arabia reach normalization breakthrough, clearing path for hostage deal www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Israel and Saudi Arabia reach normalization breakthrough, clearing path for hostage deal
***
www.haaretz.com
December 17, 2024 at 6:50 PM
Israel and Saudi Arabia reach normalization breakthrough, clearing path for hostage deal
Israel and Saudi Arabia reach normalization breakthrough, clearing path for hostage deal www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Israel and Saudi Arabia reach normalization breakthrough, clearing path for hostage deal www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Reposted by Mohanad Hage Ali
The Syrian Upheaval Has Iranian Leaders Reeling, Too www.nytimes.com/2024/12/13/w...
Iranians Confront Their Leaders Over Syria Debacle
For decades, Iran poured money and military aid into Syria, backing the Assad regime in its ambition to confront Israel. Now many Iranians are openly asking why.
www.nytimes.com
December 14, 2024 at 10:18 AM
The Syrian Upheaval Has Iranian Leaders Reeling, Too www.nytimes.com/2024/12/13/w...
Reposted by Mohanad Hage Ali
في مقالي الأخير استند إلى بحوث عن الجيش السوري أدرتها في الماضي ومن دراستي للنظم السلطوية العسكرية العربية الأخرى للمساهمة في الإجابة على سؤال لماذا امتنع الجيش عن الدفاع عن بشار الاسد؟
carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/...
carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/...
تشريح السقوط العسكري
لماذا لم تتحرّك القوات المسلحة الموالية لبشار الأسد، على عكس نظيرتها في كلٍّ من مصر وليبيا والجزائر والسودان؟
carnegieendowment.org
December 10, 2024 at 2:52 PM
في مقالي الأخير استند إلى بحوث عن الجيش السوري أدرتها في الماضي ومن دراستي للنظم السلطوية العسكرية العربية الأخرى للمساهمة في الإجابة على سؤال لماذا امتنع الجيش عن الدفاع عن بشار الاسد؟
carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/...
carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/...
Reposted by Mohanad Hage Ali
This is what I got when I googled for Sednaya prison just now! I hope it stays this way!!!
December 10, 2024 at 9:01 AM
This is what I got when I googled for Sednaya prison just now! I hope it stays this way!!!
Reposted by Mohanad Hage Ali
In this post I draw on past research I led on the Syrian army and on civil-military relations in other military-backed authoritarian Arab states to help answer the question of why the army failed to defend Assad:
Anatomy of a Military Fall
carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/...
Anatomy of a Military Fall
carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/...
Anatomy of a Military Fall
Why did Bashar al-Assad’s armed forces fail to act, unlike those in Egypt, Libya, Algeria, and Sudan?
carnegieendowment.org
December 10, 2024 at 8:36 AM
In this post I draw on past research I led on the Syrian army and on civil-military relations in other military-backed authoritarian Arab states to help answer the question of why the army failed to defend Assad:
Anatomy of a Military Fall
carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/...
Anatomy of a Military Fall
carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/...
Reposted by Mohanad Hage Ali
Scoop: Yoav Gallant's planned event at Adas Israel was cancelled after members spoke out against hosting the former Israeli defense minister — a fairly big deal at a major Jewish establishment synagogue in the capital forward.com/news/680911/...
Prominent DC synagogue cancels event with Yoav Gallant after members protest
Yoav Gallant, former Israeli Defense Minister, was scheduled for an event at Washington, D.C. synagogue Adas Israel.
forward.com
December 9, 2024 at 4:03 PM
Scoop: Yoav Gallant's planned event at Adas Israel was cancelled after members spoke out against hosting the former Israeli defense minister — a fairly big deal at a major Jewish establishment synagogue in the capital forward.com/news/680911/...
Reposted by Mohanad Hage Ali
A video excerpt shows a meeting between Ahmad Al-Sharaa (Al-Jolani) and Mohammad Ghazi Al-Jalali (the deposed regime’s Prime Minister) to coordinate the transfer of power and ensure services in Syria. We hope the military doesn’t dominate and that Syrians achieve their democratic aspirations.
December 9, 2024 at 4:50 PM
A video excerpt shows a meeting between Ahmad Al-Sharaa (Al-Jolani) and Mohammad Ghazi Al-Jalali (the deposed regime’s Prime Minister) to coordinate the transfer of power and ensure services in Syria. We hope the military doesn’t dominate and that Syrians achieve their democratic aspirations.