Zeina Khodr

To those who claim to 'speak for us'

You need the Turkish government’s approval to have a face-to-face meeting with Colonel Riad al-Asad, who is currently in a refugee camp close to the Syrian border.

But the head of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) can be reached over the phone. Most of the time he seems to be in no mood to talk, like a man who is up against insurmountable odds.

“They know our demands. We have repeatedly told them what we want. There is no need for me to spell them out again,” the colonel told me when I asked him about the first congress being held by the main political opposition, the Syrian National Council, in Tunisia.

Did you send a representative to that meeting?, I asked.

“No, they didn’t invite us,” he replied.

I then asked him whether he thought the Free Syrian Army should have been among the scores of mostly exiled and dissident Syrians who were outlining future strategies.

His answer was blunt: “Yes, we should have.”

'False witnesses' and the truth

For the past five years, the world was led to believe that Syria was behind the massive car bombing that killed former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri and 22 others in Beirut.

Now, Rafiq's son  - Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri – said he had been wrong to accuse Damascus for the murder adding that the charges had been politically motivated.

Politically motivated or not – Hariri's climb down represented a shift in the balance of power in the region.

Hariri also admitted that witnesses who came forward after the bombing made "false testimonies" that pointed the finger of blame at Syria.

Even before the special international tribunal on the Hariri assassination was established, Syria and its Lebanon allies questioned its credibility alleging it was created for political motives.

Hariri's admission, however, was not enough for the Syrian leadership and the Lebanese opposition.

Little to show for Iraqi unity

Shia religious groups have dominated the political landscape for the past four years and reports here suggest they may form an alliance that would yet again give them the majority in parliament to head the next government.

But there are those who warn of instability if Iyad Allawi and his coalition partners are left out of the political process. Allawi himself has warned of renewed bloodshed.

During the March election, Shia parties ran on separate tickets as there are deep divisions among Iraq's Shia political class.

Kirkuk's Arabs - the fight against federalism

We drove some 30 kilometres from Kirkuk's city centre on a road which was once known as the Death Highway. All along it was evidence of roadside bomb attacks.

Our destination was Rachad – an area which just over a year ago was one of the most dangerous in northern Iraq. The Iraqi army and the Awakening Councils are now in control. But this area remains a fault line.

Kirkuk is at the heart of the Arab-Kurdish divide. Rachad is an Arab-populated region in this divided province.

We went to meet members of the Obeid clan, influential tribal elders who are now behind the Arab Political Council which is fielding candidates in Iraq's parliamentary elections.

Many of them boycotted the 2005 poll – that was a mistake they say, it allowed the "Kurds to gain influence and weaken the Arab claim over Kirkuk", Sheikh Abdul Rahman Munshid al-Assi, who founded the Council told me.