This is his first work on Lebanese political affairs in the Times. 1) "Correction: May 25, 2014
An earlier version of this article misstated the year the Lebanese civil war ended. It was 1990, not 2000." In fact, it was in 1989 but who is counting and what is a decade or more in the lives of people? 2) "Under the agreement that ended the 15-year civil war in 1990, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the speaker of Parliament a Shiite Muslim, and the prime minister a Sunni Muslim." Well, this sectarian distribution of power was not the product of the Ta'if Agreement in 1989 (not 1990) but was part of the National Pact of 1943. But hey: what are several decades in the lives of people? I read this and then learned about the expertise of Western correspondents in the Middle East what I knew not before.
An earlier version of this article misstated the year the Lebanese civil war ended. It was 1990, not 2000." In fact, it was in 1989 but who is counting and what is a decade or more in the lives of people? 2) "Under the agreement that ended the 15-year civil war in 1990, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the speaker of Parliament a Shiite Muslim, and the prime minister a Sunni Muslim." Well, this sectarian distribution of power was not the product of the Ta'if Agreement in 1989 (not 1990) but was part of the National Pact of 1943. But hey: what are several decades in the lives of people? I read this and then learned about the expertise of Western correspondents in the Middle East what I knew not before.
