Powering Lebanon’s grid
By Georges Pierre Sassine – Rolling blackouts have become a symbol of the political crisis affecting the Lebanese government. According to the World Bank, Lebanese citizens incur on average 220 interruptions of electricity per year, which is the worst performance in the Middle East. Today, electricity production stands at around 1,500 megawatts (MW) while demand exceeds 2,400MW at peak times, resulting in rationing cuts from between 3 to 20 hours a day, depending on where you are in Lebanon....
By Dr. F. Dalnoki-Veress – The death of the former president of the Palestinian National Authority Yasser Arafat on Nov. 11, 2004 has always been shrouded in mystery. His symptoms were wrongly assumed to be the flu but his condition worsened rapidly. A special corps of expert doctors was flown in to Ramallah to treat Arafat but his condition kept deteriorating. Rumors of a variety of illnesses from cirrhosis of the liver to HIV Aids still did not explain the...
Civil society engagement in Middle East arms control
By Ala’ A. Alrababa’h and Naomi Egel – This article serves as an overview of civil society organizations (CSOs) currently involved in arms control, regional security, and nonproliferation issues in the Middle East. The importance of the role of regional CSOs in such areas cannot be overstated and will continue to grow given the deadlock in multilateral negotiations at the official level. The CSOs The Middle East Scientific Institute for Security (MESIS)[i] emphasizes capacity-building and disseminating information...
By Salah Tabbara – For a small country Lebanon has significant wind resources, and while other Arab countries are planning on relying on nuclear energy to meet their present and future power needs this tiny Levantine nation can invest in a much cleaner and safer source for power: wind. In many wide-ranging areas average wind speeds are in excess of 9-10 meters per second per year and, in many other areas, average wind speeds are in excess of 6.5 to...
By Chen Kane – A recent article by Mark Hibbs examining the implications of Taiwan renouncing enrichment and reprocessing under its proposed nuclear cooperation agreement (NCA) with the United States has sparked significant controversy. I disagree with the premise of Mark’s article – that the UAE agreement was related to the gold standard in any way – but agree with his conclusion when he says “…others will have a different calculus, depending on what they want from the...
By Bilal Y. Saab – This took longer than I expected, but it is finally out. For expert commentary on the 2012 conference on a WMD-free zone in the Middle East, I urge you to take a look at this CNS special roundtable report. It includes contributions from 12 specialists in the field of arms control in the Middle East. My essay (I am lead editor of the report) takes a long-term view at the future of arms control in...
Arab science & technology and arms control
By Bilal Y. Saab – What is the state of science and technology in the Arab world and the broader Middle East? How does science and technology relate to the promotion and development of good practices of arms control? The global arms control experience and record so far show without any doubt the crucial and increasing role of civil society and the scientific community in the arms control process. Just think of it this way: government officials, diplomats...
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Bruce came back to CSTPV's 20t
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