Syria

Even after Trump’s Announced Withdrawal, US & Kurdish Allies Still Assaulting last ISIL Redoubt in Syria

co-author: Tony Gamal-Gabriel Syria (AFP) – US-backed forces said Sunday time was up for Islamic State group jihadists hunkering down in their eastern Syrian holdout and resumed their assault on the pocket. The extremists once ruled over millions in a swathe of Syria and Iraq, but they have since lost all that land except for […]

Syria

Lindsey Graham to embattled SecDef on Syria Withdrawal: ‘Dumbest F*cking Idea’

AFP

Washington, DC (AFP) – Acting US Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan was quizzed by US lawmakers on President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw US forces from Syria The fate of Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan was thrown into the spotlight Wednesday following media reports of a fraught discussion he had with senior US lawmakers over […]

Europe

Europe Rejects Trump’s demand they Take Back Captured ISIL Extremists

AFP

by Francis Curta with Dmitry Zaks in London | – Paris (AFP) – European officials on Monday gave a cold shoulder to a call by US President Donald Trump to take back citizens captured in the fight against Islamic State jihadists in Syria for prosecution back home. Concerns rose about the fate of European nationals […]

Kurds

Leftist Syrian Kurds who defeated ISIL Plead with Europe not to Abandon them as Trump Did

AFP

By Valérie LEROUX | – Paris (AFP) – A top Kurdish official has called on Europe not to abandon Syrian Kurds once the battle against the Islamic State group is over and to help set up an international force to protect them from Turkey. European powers “have a political and moral responsibility” to the Kurds, […]

Syria

Russia, Turkey, Iran Delighted at US Syria Withdrawal

AFP

By Maria PANINA Sochi (AFP) – The leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran hailed the planned US withdrawal from Syria as they met for talks Thursday on how to work more closely together in the country’s long-running conflict. Hosting his Turkish and Iranian counterparts in the southern city of Sochi, President Vladimir Putin said the […]

Syria

Russia, Turkey and Iran are holding a Summit on Syria and not inviting Trump

AFP

By Maria PANINA | – Sochi (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin was set to host his Iranian and Turkish counterparts Thursday to discuss how to resolve the conflict in Syria as Islamic State jihadists made a last stand in the east of the country and Washington prepares to withdraw troops. A flurry of diplomatic […]

Donald Trump

Trump to Keep Troops in Iraq as Spies on Iran, but determined to withdraw From Syria, Afghanistan

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump spoke on foreign policy Sunday on “Face The Nation,” further explaining his thinking on US troops in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. He seems to have made it clear that the US troop presence in Iraq is not, as advertised, to help Baghdad mop up ISIL remnants but rather to […]

Iran

Syria and Iran Sign Strategic Economic Plan, including Tartus Naval Base

AFP

Damascus (AFP) – Syria and Iran signed 11 agreements and memoranda of understanding late Monday, including a “long-term strategic economic cooperation” deal aimed at strengthening cooperation between Damascus and one of its key allies in the civil war that has torn the country apart. The agreements covered a range of fields including economy, culture, education, […]

Syria

Damascus Condemns Turkey Presence in North Syria as Violation of Deal

AFP

Damascus (AFP) – The Syrian government on Saturday condemned Turkey’s military presence in northern Syria as a violation of a 1998 protocol between the two countries. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has insisted the Adana Protocol gives his country the right to intervene militarily in the neighbouring country. Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxies control […]