Random Thoughts about What Happened in Beirut

Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon

Three countries with amazing human capital, history, and resources ruined by corruption, sectarianism, and war.

You come to the US or any other developed nation and you see the Lebanese (generally) the same can be said about Iraqis, and Syrians to some extent, studying at the top universities. Becoming doctors, engineers, lawyers, real estate agents, business leaders, and everything in between, excelling and capturing any opportunity they can find.

If the people there are just allowed to breathe, given the opportunity and the ecosystem to do something productive, they have the potential of becoming something much better than they are today and even better than they were before.

But then you have corrupt sectarian parties that care more about destruction than construction. They care more about their ideologies and money than they care about their people.

They need to be stopped immediately in any way possible.

They are not only "part of the problem".

They are the problem.

I truly believe in the potential of Lebanese people to restore and rebuild their beautiful country if the world stands with them.

It's one of the best investments of our time if we do it right.

May the spirit of the Lebanese people continues to be a shining light for the middle east and the whole world.

When Saddam Invaded Kuwait

30 years ago, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and lost very badly.

I didn't know that was true until 2004 (14 years later) I watched a documentary (I think it was on national geographic) talking about the first gulf war from a different perspective and I remember being shocked.

We were taught that the battle is called "أم المعارك" aka "mother of all battles" and Iraq actually WON that war against 33 aggressors.

We only had 3 channels in Iraq back then and all of them were owned by the state.

Satellite television was not allowed if you were not well connected and know how to hide the equipment.

There is so much talk these days about "fake news" and disinformation on social media.

For most of us who were born and raised in Iraq disinformation campaigns were the norm.

I am sure it's the case for many other authoritarian countries and not just in Iraq.

That's why I have made it the mission of my life to combat propaganda and misinformation from authoritarian states and I believe that critical thinking and media literacy are some of the best ways to combat them.

We need to teach the next generations HOW to think not just WHAT to think.