khaddam memories … Arafat leaves Beirut, US envoy meets al-Assad
How the curtain finally came down on PLO presence in Lebanon Al Majalla By the end of the summer of 1982, Beirut was shattered and
How the curtain finally came down on PLO presence in Lebanon Al Majalla By the end of the summer of 1982, Beirut was shattered and
The PLO chairman now knows that he must leave Lebanon as his fighters are surrounded by the Israelis. The Syrian president is no friend, but
With an eye on the Lebanese presidency, the Phalange commander and sworn enemy of Syria sends secret messages of ‘reassurance’ to al-Assad. Meanwhile, Damascus refuses
US envoy Phillip Habib proposes a plan to facilitate the PLO’s exit from Beirut. Meanwhile, the Phalange party vows to end Lebanon’s ‘three occupations’. AFP
It is June 1982, and Beirut is surrounded by the Israelis. In the city, there are Syrian soldiers and Palestinian fighters from Yasser Arafat’s PLO.
The US wanted Syria to abstain from meddling in Iraqi affairs, deny refuge to former Saddam loyalists, expel Palestinian organisations from Syria, and withdraw Syrian
The Syrian president shares his concerns with Iran’s Supreme Leader that the US could go after Iran and Syria if it succeeds in Iraq. Al
Joe Biden, Chuck Hagel, and Colin Powell debated with Bashar al-Assad on their intent to get rid of Saddam. In part 5 of a seven-part
In part 4 of a 7-part series, Al Majalla sheds light on a meeting between Rafic Hariri and George W. Bush. The Lebanese PM left
Before it invaded Iraq in 2003, the US was trying to reassure Iran that it would not be targeted next. In part 3 of a
Al Majalla lifts the veil on Iraqi Kurdish leaders’ “clandestine visit” to Langley, where they were briefed on the reasons for regime change Al Majalla
A year before the US invasion of Iraq, senior US officials worked through possible post-Saddam scenarios with Iraqi Kurds Al Majalla In 2002, the CIA
Tension continues between Iran and Saudi Arabia… and Al-Assad continues last-minute mediation to “extinguish the fires” The “Tanker War” began amid the Iraq-Iran War, as
Syria moves to stop the expansion of the war and proposes a six-month truce and to stop bombing tankers Episode four covers Saudi Arabia’s anger
The third episode deals with Iran’s penetration of the Iraqi borders, the content of the deliberations of the late Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal
Khaddam describes the Iraqi president as “crazy and stubborn”… and Riyadh ignores the provocations… and Tehran stipulates that in order to stop its attack, the
Personal papers of Syria’s former vice-president detail Syria Prime Minister Mahmoud al-Zoubi’s fall from grace and his subsequent ‘suicide’ SANA/AFP Syrian President Hafez al-Assad (C)
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with his soldiers on the border during the Iran-Iraq war between 1980 and 1988. In early January 1982, two years after
The Assad family, which has ruled Syria since 1971, when former President Hafez al-Assad took office, is surrounded by mystery. It is natural that many
The late Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam talks about his recent meeting with “Mr. President” and his talk about “a new corrective movement… not
Khaddam recounts the details of his appointment as Vice President and the thwarting of the coup attempt After a period, President Hafez returned home, and
The Syrian president’s illness was the “awaited moment” for his younger brother, who deployed his forces in Umayyad Square When Hafez al-Assad fell ill in
Khaddam talks about “the first sign of inheritance” from Assad In a meeting of the Qatari leadership held at the end of March, the Qatari
Rifaat followed “Big Brother” and expanded his influence in the army and the “Baath Party” The relationship between Hafez and Rifaat was like any two
Refaat schemed to take over power in Syria, but Hafez outwitted his younger brother, resulting in his exile It has been four decades since Syria’s
Syrian Vice President Abdul-Halim Khaddam, until the last moment (at least during my conversations with him in Paris after his defection from Bashar al-Assad’s regime),
Al Majalla reveals what went on in the room between the Syrian president and the US secretary of state to produce a historic peace agreement
Negotiations to make peace with Israel in exchange for the return of the Golan began with Clinton but fizzled out after Hafez al-Assad died. They
The US was reluctant to use military force to end Aoun’s rebellion against the Syrian-backed Lebanese government but eventually agreed for him to be sent
Al Majalla reveals the details of secret presidential discussions between Washington and Damascus during a time of flux in the Middle East as global dynamics
Al Majalla publishes the secret messages between the leaders with Arafat playing the role of the go-between On 21 April 1990, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
Al Majalla publishes secret documents and letters that reveal Al-Assad’s opposition to Saddam’s ‘Arab Council’ choosing to liaise with Saudi Arabia instead Ali Abdullah Saleh,
In his book “The Syrian-Iranian Alliance and the Region,” the late former Vice President of Syria, Abdel Halim Khaddam, revealed the story of the formation