Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Biden administration is devoting what energy the State Department has aside from the effort to defend Ukraine to achieving diplomatic normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The premise for this entry of the Saudis into the Abraham Accords is that it would seek an alliance with Israel against Iran. […]
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Syria
China and the Axis of the Sanctioned: How America’s Divide-and-Rule Strategy in the Middle East Backfired
( Tomdispatch.com) – A photo Beijing released on March 6th of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s foreign minister Wang Yi* delivered a seismic shock in Washington. There he was, standing between Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, and Saudi National Security Adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban. They were awkwardly shaking hands on an […]
A Final Burial for the Arab Spring: Arab League Readmits Syria under al-Assad, as Tensions with Iran Subside
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The foreign ministers of the Arab League states, meeting in Cairo on Sunday, approved the end of Syria’s suspension from membership in that body. Syria was suspended in November 2011 as the Syrian Arab Army was deployed to massacre civilian protesters. The decision was a recognition that the Baath government […]
Why are We There? Biden Bombs Syria, after Drone Kills US Contractor, wounds 5 US Military Personnel
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden ordered air strikes on Thursday (Friday in Syria) against militiamen in the Harabish neighborhood just outside the city of Deir az-Zor, who are suspected of having launched an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone against an American base in northeast Syria. The metro area of Deir az-Zor […]
Over half of Syria Population is going Hungry, says the World Food Programme
( Middle East Monitor ) – Over half of Syria’s population is going hungry as the war-torn and divided country continues to deal with the ongoing 12-year-long civil war and recent earthquakes, the World Food Programme (WFP) has announced. The FAO explains, “A person is food insecure when they lack regular access to enough safe […]
Syrian Earthquake devastated an Area that was already a disaster Zone – and highlights the vital Role of local aid Groups
By Kimberly Howe, Tufts University | – (The Conversation) – Three weeks after the February 2023 earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria, I stood amid the rubble in Jindires, a devastated Syrian village. An estimated 50,000 people had lost their lives in the two countries by that point, with the number of casualties still climbing. Around […]
Syria’s Earthquake survivors struggle in a Disaster made far worse by Civil War, bombed-out Hospitals and currency Collapse
By Ora Szekely, Clark University | – After a pair of devastating earthquakes struck southern Turkey and northwestern Syria, the number of confirmed deaths continues to rise, surpassing 50,000 as of Feb. 24. The United Nations estimates that millions of people on both sides of the border have been affected, including 9 million in Syria […]
Race and Erasure: Why don’t Syrian and Palestinian Refugees get treated like Ukrainians?
By Ritesh Shah, University of Auckland | – (The Conversation) – With the war in Ukraine now in its second year, nearly a third of the country’s population has been displaced, including 8 million people who have sought refuge beyond its borders. International support for the plight of these refugees has been heartening. Nearly 4.5 […]
Climate Emergency: Extreme Heat Waves will increase 600% in Israel, Middle East, over 80 years, as 70% of Youth consider Emigrating
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ruth Schuster at Haaretz reports on a new study led by Assaf Hochmann at Hebrew University, finding that extreme heat waves in Israel will increase 600% over the next 80 years. Not only will this change strike Israel but also Egypt, Syria, Jordan and southern Turkiye, with the potential for […]