The Middle East Channel

How The Wire explains Lebanese politics

At the end of the third season of The Wire, the fictional HBO series, a Baltimore drug gang led by Avon Barksdale is arming up to take revenge on a rival gang for the murder of his top lieutenant, Stringer Bell. Barksdale, however, knows that Stringer wasn’t killed by the rival gang, but rather had ...

By
550653_rsz_saad_1083135684.jpg
550653_rsz_saad_1083135684.jpg
CORRECTS NAME OF PHOTOGRAPHER--Lebanese soldiers guard the streets as supporters of the Future Movement gather during a demonstration in support of the caretaker prime minister Saad Hariri (banner) in coastal city of Sidon, south of Beirut on January 25, 2011, as hundreds of people converged on the northern city of Tripoli to take part in a 'day of rage' over the likely appointment as prime minister of Hezbollah-backed tycoon Najib Mikati. AFP PHOTO/MAHMOUD ZAYAT (Photo credit should read MAHMOUD ZAYAT/AFP/Getty Images)

At the end of the third season of The Wire, the fictional HBO series, a Baltimore drug gang led by Avon Barksdale is arming up to take revenge on a rival gang for the murder of his top lieutenant, Stringer Bell. Barksdale, however, knows that Stringer wasn't killed by the rival gang, but rather had fallen as part of a conspiracy of his own making and tries to explain to his top enforcer what really happened.

At the end of the third season of The Wire, the fictional HBO series, a Baltimore drug gang led by Avon Barksdale is arming up to take revenge on a rival gang for the murder of his top lieutenant, Stringer Bell. Barksdale, however, knows that Stringer wasn’t killed by the rival gang, but rather had fallen as part of a conspiracy of his own making and tries to explain to his top enforcer what really happened.

But the enforcer, Slim Charles, doesn’t want to hear it. Knowing that the gang is in the other room, arming up to go to war over the murder and with a canny understanding of the tribal vengeance dynamic that’s in play, Charles cuts off his boss.

"If it’s a lie," he empathically tells Avon. "Then we fight on that lie."

Read more.

<p> Mitchell Prothero is a writer and photographer based in Beirut. </p>
Tag: Politics

latest

Biden’s Signature Achievement Needs to Go Global

The Land of Lederhosen, Beer, and Political Chaos

Will China’s Elite Ever Rise Up?

A Tale of Two Germanies

The Great Turn Inward
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    Who Are Xi’s Enemies?
  2. 2
    The Scrambled Spectrum of U.S. Foreign-Policy Thinking
  3. 3
    All the Palestinians Got From Oslo Was KFC
  4. 4
    The Land of Lederhosen, Beer, and Political Chaos
  5. 5
    America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want
  6. 6
    A Tale of Two Germanies

More from Foreign Policy

A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.
A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.

No, the World Is Not Multipolar

The idea of emerging power centers is popular but wrong—and could lead to serious policy mistakes.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.
The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.

America Can’t Stop China’s Rise

And it should stop trying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.

The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky

The ethical calculations are less clear than you might think.

Trending

  1. Blue Hawk Down
    Report
    Robbie Gramer

  2. A Tale of Two Germanies
    Review
    Allison Meakem

  3. Biden’s Signature Achievement Needs to Go Global
    Argument
    Sagatom Saha, Shayak Sengupta

  4. The U.S. Cannot Afford to Lose a Soft-Power Race With China
    Analysis
    Raja Krishnamoorthi