The struggle in Syria began peacefully in spring of 2011, but after about half a year it turned violent when the regime deployed tanks and other heavy munitions against the protesters. Some of the latter took up weapons and turned to violence in revenge. Thereafter the struggle spiraled into a civil war, in which the […]
Syria: The US is no Lone Ranger (Cole @ Truthdig)
My essay, “The US is no Lone Ranger,” on Syria, is out at Truthdig Excerpt: “The odd discourse in Washington around President Barack Obama’s determination to bomb Syria over the country’s use of chemical weapons assumes a moral superiority on the part of the United States and its allies on this issue that can only […]
The US still Wants to be the Sole Superpower; but it Can’t (Engelhardt)
Tom Engelhardt writes at Tomdispatch.com In an increasingly phantasmagorical world, here’s my present fantasy of choice: someone from General Keith Alexander’s outfit, the National Security Agency, tracks down H.G. Wells’s time machine in the attic of an old house in London. Britain’s subservient Government Communications Headquarters, its version of the NSA, is paid off and […]
Former Iranian President Slams Syria for Gassing own People: Sign of deep Divisions in Tehran
Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani has roiled Iranian politics by admitting that the Syrian government gassed its own people at Ghuta in the eastern suburbs of Damascus. He was lamenting the calamities that are befalling the hapless Syrian people. He attacked the regime of President Bashar al-Assad for filling what he called “football stadiums” full […]
Israeli Press on Syria Delay: History will Mock Obama (OSC)
The USG Open Source Center translates or paraphrases passages from the Israeli Hebrew press on President Obama’s decision to seek Congressional advice and consent regarding responses to Syria’s use of chemical weapons. Some slammed him, some were supportive or understanding : Historians To Mock Obama, President’s Actions Convey Weakness “Obama Playing Dumb” by Hagay Segal […]
Iraqi Government Rejects US Strike on Syria, Fears Civil War
In his speech on Saturday on the Syria crisis, President Obama instanced Iraq among the countries that might suffer if the Baath regime were allowed to get away with using chemical weapons. The elected government of Iraq, however, says thanks but no thanks. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki categorically rejects a Western strike on Syria. Sectarian […]
How America’s ‘Espionage Empire’ is Paid for: The ‘Black Budget’ (Queally)
Jon Queally writes at Commondreams.org: In the latest revelation made possible by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the Washington Post on Thursday published an investigative analysis and interactive map of America's so-called "Black Budget" which details the $52.6 billion allotment of taxpayer money that funds the government's "intelligence-gathering colossus" that has previously remained insulated from the […]
Obama goes to Congress on Syria as his International Support Collapses
People have been asking why President Obama did not go to Congress about Libya but is willing to do so with regard to a much less robust action in Syria. The answer is a pragmatic and not a legal or constitutional one. Obama did not need Congress in the case of Libya. He had the […]
Gulf Arab Press divided on Syria Strike (OSC)
The USG Open Source Center paraphrases items in the Gulf Arab press regarding the US strike on Syria Gulf Press Carries Mixed Reactions to Potential US Military Attack on Syria OSC Summary Saturday, August 31, 2013 Document Type: OSC Summary On 30 August, websites of Gulf newspapers were observed to carry mixed reactions to a […]
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