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Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

From Baltimore to Beirut: I’m more confused than ever by Lebanese politics

Andrew Exum uses The Wire to explain what is happening in Lebanese politics: For starters, anyone confused by Hizballah’s relations to Amal would do well to think of Hassan Nasrallah as Marlo Stanfield and Nabih Berri as Avon Barksdale. The Stanfield crew never really destroyed the Barksdale crew — they never really needed to. They ...

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
Wikimedia
Wikimedia
Wikimedia

Andrew Exum uses The Wire to explain what is happening in Lebanese politics:

Andrew Exum uses The Wire to explain what is happening in Lebanese politics:

For starters, anyone confused by Hizballah’s relations to Amal would do well to think of Hassan Nasrallah as Marlo Stanfield and Nabih Berri as Avon Barksdale. The Stanfield crew never really destroyed the Barksdale crew — they never really needed to. They just fought a series of conflicts and gradually displaced them as time went on. They’re all West Side guys, just one crew is leaner and meaner than the other, and those who never grew comfortable with the new power order — the Bodie’s of Lebanon, if you will — were eventually dealt with. The IDF is Officer Colicchio.

What worries me: Who in Beirut is Snoop, that scary girl who used the nail gun?

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

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