A fresh bombing in Lebanon, a militant tied to another bombing died in jail, and a complex tall tale about the identity of a suspect in yet a third bombing is being fed to a numb public with a major case of terror fatigue.

Al-Qaeda is strengthening its grip on two major Sunni Iraqi cities, Syrian refugees are freezing while an uprising wanders aimlessly and Assad insists on being a president of a ghost country.

Iranian and Saudi Arabian camps continue to form across the region. They are now becoming more visible and more lethal. A confused U.S. foreign policy joins hands with a European nonchalance as Israel tests missiles and declares it is aware of Hezbollah moving its heavy artillery from Syria to Lebanon; thus, giving itself a reason to be on high alert and justify a strike against Hezbollah or even Iran, a desire its prime minister has never softened his stance on.

Even nations that seemed stable or on their way to stability around this time last year are in shambles as Turkey drowns in a corruption scandal involving its key leadership and Egypt authorities battle Muslim Brotherhood still calling for deposed Mursi to return to the presidency.
And we are only in the first week!

There is a lot more trouble than space to mention in this column, and a slew of tragedies will unfold as a result of the above. Trouble is brewing around the world; and from the looks of it, evildoers exceed peace lovers by far in numbers and in deeds.

Countries asking their nationals to leave Lebanon due to “security concerns” in the beginning of this uncertain year marks the tip of what is yet to come. It is a reminder of past eras and miserable memories we wished would never return and we wished our children would never have to go through. For those insisting on taking Lebanon back to those bleak days, and everyone insisting on drowning the region in more polarization and hatred, may history recognize you as the worst of mankind!

Not only is 2014 a tough year, it is a defining year in relations among nations. Things will get worse at an incredible speed but they will need a miracle to get better. The math is simple: A few short days into 2014 and one can already file a year in review!

This article was first published in al-Nahar on Jan. 6, 2013.
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Multi-award-winning journalist Octavia Nasr served as CNN’s senior editor of Middle Eastern affairs, and is regarded as one of the pioneers of the use of social media in traditional media. She moved to CNN in 1990, but was dismissed in 2010 after tweeting her sorrow at the death of Hezbollah’s Mohammed Fadlallah. Nasr now runs her own firm, Bridges Media Consulting, whose main aim is to help companies better leverage the use of social networks.