Dispatch from Damascus: ‘We’re Ready’

DAMASCUS, Syria, July 18—The road to Damascus was bombed again early this morning, the seventh day of fighting between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militia, Hezbollah. And though it is still possible to get from Beirut to Damascus along secondary mountain roads, the perils of the journey have pushed the price of the trip up Read More

Dispatch from Damascus: ‘We’re Ready’

DAMASCUS, Syria, July 18—The road to Damascus was bombed again early this morning, the seventh day of fighting between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militia, Hezbollah. And though it is still possible to get from Beirut to Damascus along secondary mountain roads, the perils of the journey have pushed the price of the trip up Read More

Inertia Poses Obstacles As Lebanon Seeks Freedom

The winds of freedom that now sweep the Middle East are bending the cedars of Lebanon. The Syrian overlords of the small, unhappy country overplayed their hand a month ago by blowing up Rafiq Harari, a politician who had grown tired of their presence.

Lebanese patriots, instead of being cowed, gathered in Martyrs Square in Read More

Columbus Circle Saga Goes On, as Lebanese Seek Hartford Gallery

If buildings had psyches, the strange little structure at 2 Columbus Circle would probably be in need of some serious counseling. At its birth, as Huntington Hartford’s Gallery of Modern Art, it was derided, in the famous phrasing of architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable, as “a die-cut Venetian palazzo on lollipops.” Hard times, however, soon Read More