Will There Be Accountability?

On August 5th 2021, Hezbollah fired more than a dozen rockets at northern Israel for the first time, since the last Lebanon war in 2006 which killed 1200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis. In response to those rockets, Israel launched air strikes against multiple Hezbollah targets. The Iron Dome system intercepted most of these rockets, while few landed in open areas and there were no injuries declared by the Israeli officials. Hassan Nasrallah claimed that the launching of the rockets was a response to Israel air raids on Lebanese soil. He said in a televised speech, “we wanted to tell the enemy that any airstrike by the Israeli air force on Lebanon will inevitably draw a response, though in a suitable and proportionate way”. However, Hezbollah’s swift halting of escalation after launching dozens of rockets on the north of Israel and the short and limited response of Israel clearly showed that neither Israel nor Hezbollah wants war. Hezbollah is concerned with the declining situation in Lebanon, where inflation is out of control and there are shortages of electricity, fuel, food and medicine. This situation has led to discontent with the Government (and Hezbollah as well) that started back in 2020 amid the Beirut Port explosion, which encouraged thousands of angry protesters chanting anti-Hezbollah slogans, accusing the group for illegally bringing tons of ammonium nitrate into Beirut, and their reputation is still declining. Lebanon's influential Maronite Catholic Patriarch Bechara Boutros during his Sunday Mass urged the Lebanon army to “confront Hezbollah for the sake of Lebanon, and to take control of the entire lands of the south, to prevent the launching of missiles from Lebanon”, referring to the recent rockets fired into northern Israel by the group. In an effort to reassure Lebanese citizens about the recent clashes with Israel, Hezbollah leader Nasrallah said in a televised statement, “We don’t want to get into problem with anyone. We want to help our people”.

The rapid fall of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, on August 15th without a serious fight and the flight of the deposed president Ashraf Ghani, reportedly with several cars and a helicopter full of cash, heralded the inglorious end of America’s near two decade attempt to “nation-build” Afghanistan in its own image. The fact that the fall of the Afghan government, which had been supported by international coalition forces, fell even prior to the American departure of its military, intelligence, and diplomatic assets out of the country only added insult to injury. The fall was not surprising to many critics, but the speed of it all was. The situation in Kabul was so terrible that the United States had to beg the Taliban, a force once described by General Wesley Clark as “the most incompetent adversary the United States has fought since the Barbary pirates”, to spare its embassy and to ensure safe passage of the staff out of the country. The US even offered aid as an inducement for the Taliban to allow safe passage for its staff. The American exit from the country was also marked by airport bombingsthat killed 13 American service members and scores of Afghanis. The bungled withdrawal, has also led to American’s international allies being placed at risk and questioning the judgment of her leader. The British parliament held President Joe Biden in contempt by a unanimous vote. Many other European leaders expressed their shock at how poorly the withdrawal was conducted and noted that their faith in American leadership had been damaged by this affair.  

After insisting that he “wasn’t going anywhere”, Former Governor Andrew Cuomo officially resigned from his position. Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul took his place two weeks after his announcement. Cuomo leaves New York State in chaos, with Hurricane Henri touching down and the Delta variant of COVID-19 pushing the city towards further lockdowns and vaccine mandates. His Democratic party is in shambles, and any chance of a supposed presidential run is improbable. Even the chief of Time Out NY resigned over connections with him.

Tuesday September 11th, 2001 was a Tuesday, which felt like any other ordinary work day, until it wasn't. The illusions of normalcy were shattered when flight 11 crashed into the North Tower in a shower of fire, smoke and debris. Within the hour, the South Tower was hit by another commercial jet, removing any doubt that the horrific spectacle unfolding on television in front of the world's eyes, was a tragic accident. As the towers burned with hundreds of people trapped above the impact zone, a third hijacked airliner hit the Pentagon. A few minutes after, the South Tower collapsed, followed a half hour later by the North Tower, sending nearby onlookers running for their lives to avoid the tsunami of concrete and dust being released.