BEIRUT, Lebanon – Uncertainty about Lebanon’s political stability in an atmosphere of increasing sectarian division and rumors that Hezbollah is beefing up for an offensive against Israel are testing the allegiances of women loyal to the paramilitary group. Given the influence of women in Hezbollah, their ambivalence has the potential to spread further and ultimately shake the foundation of its political support among Lebanon’s Shiites. While tens of thousands gathered last month to commemorate the anniversary of Hezbollah’s self-declared “divine victory” against Israel (which left more than 1,200 Lebanese and 150 Israelis dead), some Hezbollah supporters question whether the sectarian [...]
WASHINGTON — In early August, Seattle-based Boeing, the nation’s second-largest weapons manufacturer, extended invitations to several East Coast-based online journalists to ride on a lavish Boeing corporate jet to Everett, Wash., to tour the company’s 767 airplane factory. Boeing’s aim: to win some good-will from a relatively neglected slice of the media as the company vies for one of the biggest and most important military contracts in decades. In coming months, perhaps as early as December, the U.S. Air Force will decide between Boeing and a partnership of Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman and the European firm EADS for a $40-billion [...]
For decades during the Cold War, the United States sought nuclear primacy. Now it may be on the verge of achieving it. As America’s presidential candidates begin to articulate positions on nuclear policy, it is worth remembering that in all dealings with the nuclear genie, you should be careful what you wish for. . . . When a state can obliterate its adversary’s arsenal with a first strike, it is said to possess nuclear primacy. America had primacy early in the Cold War, but the Soviet Union’s acquisition of a secure second strike capability in the 1960s ushered in the [...]
