Steven Simon (CFR) and Jonathan Stevenson (NWC): Disarming Hezbollah. The militarization of sex: The story of Hezbollah's halal hookups. When Salah Ezzedine’s alleged pyramid scheme collapsed, it left thousands of Lebanese Shia with empty bank accounts — and presented Hizbollah with a crisis of authenticity. An excerpt from Tea with Hezbollah: Sitting at the Enemies' Table, Our Journey Through the Middle East by Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis (and more). Hamas U.: Islamism has won hearts and minds across the Middle East — it also offers a BA. Garbage in the streets of Cairo: Culture in any country is judged by the nation's commitment to certain civilized issues in life, and one of them is cleanliness. Repopulating an antique land: An article on Egypt’s forbidding Western Desert. Reluctant Revolutionary: Mohamed ElBaradei was greeted by cheering crowds upon his return to Cairo — now for the hard part (and an interview). Saudi Arabia’s cross-border attacks on Yemeni rebels were meant to bring down an insurgency, but will they only make this largely ignored conflict even worse? Who knows what else is in the offing for Dubai: The one-time wonderland seemed to turn into one giant yard sale. From Bidoun, for as long as there has been a United Arab Emirates, Zaki Nusseibeh has been by the side of its leader; and an interview with James Thornett, founder of the Baghdad Country Club. Salons, a vital part of Iraqi intellectual life for centuries, have sprung up around Baghdad as violence has dropped. Iraq was not a war for oil, but the oil fields are the nation's best hope for recovery. Almost seven years later, the most catastrophic legacy of the Iraq war is shaping up to be the refugees who are locked in limbo on its borders.
