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There was a president imposed by Syria. Our battle... is to have a Lebanese president that we elect.

Lebanon will be engulfed again in a huge power game that will last quite a long time. This is the tragic destiny of Lebanon.

The Depression did more to me than being a little Lebanese kid did.

Violence would be a huge gift to those who want a divided Lebanon.

Everything that could produce a clash between the Arab world and the West seemed dangerous to me.

We believe that Lebanon has been the first real experience for all the Arabs.

When I look back on my childhood, I think of that short time in Beirut. I know that seeing the city collapse around me forced me to grasp something many people miss: the fragility of peace.

What ultimately happened is that my country had a war. I think it would be extraordinary, as a writer, not to want to write about that.

Oh yes, my generation liked to be in some pain when they read. The harder it was, the more good we believed it was doing us.

The reason it has relevance is because I, as a popular Arab personality - the Arab people like me and respect me - thought it was time for me to make an ever so tiny statement about what I thought about this whole thing.