Bashar al-Assad

Biden got 117,000 Afghans Out: Contrast that Time Trump Abruptly Withdrew Troops from Syria and refused to Help Kurdish Allies

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Richard N. Ojeda, an Army vet and former West Virginia state representative tweeted out an observation that I would like to reinforce: I don’t remember Donald Trump flying one Kurd to safety. He let Turkey slaughter them. They were our allies that served side by side with our troops. Where […]

Bashar al-Assad

Does Renewed fighting in Syria’s Deraa, Birthplace of the Revolution, Show Russia’s Weakness?

Nikola Mikovic

Belgrade (Special to Informed Comment) – Russia is making an effort to prevent wide-scale hostilities in Syria’s southern province of Deraa. The Kremlin reportedly aims to increase its influence in the war-torn country, but recent clashes in Deraa al-Balad – a southern district of Deraa city – between the Moscow-backed Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and […]

Bashar al-Assad

Is it still possible to prevent the collapse of Syria?

Middle East Monitor

By Marwan Kabalan | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Syrian intellectuals and activists from across political and intellectual spheres are busy searching for a way out of the disastrous situation their country has reached after ten years of violent conflict. The issue is not straightforward, and the exit is unclear, with everyone trying […]

Authoritarianism

Trump aping Mideast Tinpot Dictators and raving about declaring Martial Law, which even Iran Prohibits

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – With Trump raving in White House meetings, prompted by the equally certifiable Michael Flynn, about declaring martial law, it sets an old Middle East hand like me thinking. In my part of the world, leaders declare martial law or a “state of emergency” at the drop of a helmet. And […]

Bashar al-Assad

Will Biden Wind down the Syria War or keep it Bubbling?

Global Voices

Incoming US administration won’t take leaps in Syria

Bashar al-Assad

Syria’s security services flourish while people starve; what sort of ‘president’ is Assad?

Juan Cole

Ghazi Dahman | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – It is no surprise that the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre has released documents revealing that Syrian Embassies around the world spy on their own citizens on behalf of the Assad regime. Every Syrian who has travelled abroad for any reason knows that the regime’s […]

Bashar al-Assad

As Syria Faces Hunger, will New, Severe Trump Sanctions on the Regime Harm the People?

Jamal Dillman-Hasso

Ann Arbor (Special to Informed Comment) – In the Ma`aret Misrin camp near Idlib, 45-year-old father of 10 Nasr Sultan recently told AFP that with the recent imminent halt of food supplies to the camp, his children will be at the mercy of famine. Mike Robson, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Syrian representative, separately […]

Bashar al-Assad

Syria from Eden to Ruin: The World may forget, but the Catastrophe hasn’t Gone Away

Bert de Vries

From Eden to Ruin ( Christian Courier) – While living in Jordan, my wife Sally and I fell in love with Syria and its people through many visits stretched over four decades. Our last adventure in 2006 was to Aleppo, when we stayed in a converted khan in the middle of its souq (market), which […]

Bashar al-Assad

Is Russia set to abandon its ally, Syria’s al-Assad?

Nikola Mikovic

Rumors are flying that Russia may be trying to topple Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad, or at least to force him to accept a new constitution that would significantly limit his power. Moscow unexpectedly started criticizing its only ally in the Middle East, which has raised questions on the future of Russia’s involvement in the Syrian […]