Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The strategic situation in Syria is dire for the Baathist government of Bashar al-Assad. Typically in military history, if an invader takes the capital of the other country, it secures its victory. Damascus is the prize. Damascus has an Achilles heel. It is landlocked, deep in the south of the […]
Archives for December 2024
Ben-Gvir seeks plan for Trump to instigate Palestinian Migration from Gaza
( Middle East Monitor ) – Israel intends to present a plan to US President-elect Donald Trump aimed at encouraging migration and settlement in Gaza, far-right Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, announced on Wednesday. In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Maariv, Ben-Gvir confirmed that the plan includes two main elements, claiming that it […]
A ‘Future of Dust’ – Why, in Evil Times, Writers have a Responsibility to take Sides (Jeff Sparrow)
By Jeff Sparrow, The University of Melbourne (The Conversation) – We must ask for no references to Gaza/Palestine/Israel as it’s a very sensitive topic in our area. If these topics are included it drastically changes our risk management plans for events. Thus for safety and harmony we kindly ask the guest speakers avoid these topics […]
Turkish Right celebrates Syrian Rebel Offensive, while Left Fears Partition and Turmoil
Istanbul (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – After four years of frozen conflict, Syrian rebels, mainly from the Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), launched a surprise offensive against President Bashar al-Assad’s government in northwestern Syria on November 27. The rebels swiftly captured Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, marking […]
The Russia – Iran – Assad ‘Axis of the Vulnerable’ is Cracking in Syria
By Scott Lucas, University College Dublin (The Conversation) – The so-called “axis of the vulnerable” is breaking in Syria. Starting in 2016, Russia and Iran, propping up the regime of Bashar al-Assad, needed more than a year of bombing, ground assaults and siege to break the rebel opposition in the east of Syria’s largest city, […]
Progressives must Act to Protect the most Vulnerable: mere Resistance to Trump is not Enough
By Ira Chernus ( Tomdispatch.com ) – Count on one thing: the next four years are going to be tough. If you can muster the energy for political action while Donald Trump and his minions rule Washington, it will have to be channeled in two ways: first, resisting the worst excesses of him (and his […]
“It is like an Apocalypse:” Amnesty International finds Israel is deliberately undertaking Genocide against Palestinians of Gaza
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Amnesty International has just put out a detailed report based on its own fieldwork and masses of other evidence finding that Israel is committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The organization joins several other international bodies in coming to that conclusion, and it is one that I endorsed in […]
Israel is pushing Political Allies in Congress to outlaw Conversations about the Genocide in Gaza; it won’t Work
( The Middle East Monitor ) – The ongoing genocide in Gaza is unprecedented. Nothing that Israel and its supporters can say or do will avoid the historical accountability of the extermination of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. The above assertion is critical, both for ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine and achieving […]
The spectacular Capture of Aleppo by Opposition Forces plunges Syria into an uncertain Future
By Mehmet Ozalp, Charles Sturt University (The Conversation) – The forgotten Syrian civil war has again flared up with the spectacular capture of Aleppo by opposition forces. A complex set of circumstances created the right time for rebels to strike, plunging Syria into an uncertain future and catching President Bashar al-Assad by surprise. The Syrian […]
© 2025 All Rights Reserved