Eastern Europe

TeleSur | – – The western military bloc has been increasing its presence and activity around Russian borders. Polish President Andrzej Duda welcomed on Friday the decision of NATO to station a U.S. battalion in Poland to bolster the eastern flank of the military alliance, increasing troop numbers by up to 4,000. “We are pleased […]

Bashar al-Assad

If East Aleppo Falls to Regime, is the Syrian War over?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Reuters is reporting that the Syrian Arab Army and its Shiite militia allies have taken Malah Farms to the northwest of the city and so have cut the last remaining road by which the rebel forces in East Aleppo were resupplied with armaments. (Reuters is too […]

Featured

Putin’s Winning Hand in Syria, as Turkey Apologizes and Obama Deals

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Vladimir Putin was the skunk at the party in the West after his annexation (or repossession, depending on how you look at it) of Crimea. Europe declared that borders cannot be changed by fiat or troops. The US pressed for heavy sanctions. The Russian intervention in […]

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Why total Victory for Russia and Assad is a Pipedream: ISIL strikes in deep in Regime Territory

contributors

By Scott Lucas | (The Conversation) | – – Months after Russia spectacularly entered the Syrian conflict, [the so-called] Islamic State (IS) is still thumbing its nose at both Moscow and the Assad regime in murderous fashion. On May 23, the group detonated between seven and nine car and suicide bombs in the coastal cities […]

Bashar al-Assad

Russia declines to ask Syria to halt Bombardment of East Aleppo

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s recent interview with Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter gives some idea of thinking in Moscow about the Syrian civil war. Question: Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has voiced criticism over the airstrikes carried out by Russia in Syria, leaving the impression that relations […]

Russia

US confused over Russia’s real intentions in Syria

contributors

By EurActiv.com | – – Russia’s latest military moves in Syria have sharpened divisions within the US administration over whether Russian President Vladimir Putin genuinely backs a UN-led initiative to end the civil war or is using the negotiations to mask renewed military support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. Russia has repositioned artillery near the […]

Left Politics

Poll: Most Russians Prefer Return of Soviet Union and Socialism

contributors

TeleSur | – – A recent poll revealed that most Russians would like to see the return of the Soviet Union and socialism. The majority of Russians polled in a recent study would prefer living under the Soviet Union and would like to see the socialist system and Soviet state restored. According to the latest […]

China

The New Interventionists: It isn’t just the Yanquis any more

contributors

Mark Leonard | ( Project Syndicate ) | – – In the 1990s, after genocides in Rwanda and the Balkans, Western countries developed a doctrine of so-called humanitarian intervention. “The Responsibility to Protect” (colloquially known as “R2P”) held countries accountable for their people’s welfare and compelled the international community to intervene when governments failed to […]

Featured

Syria: Russia Targets Daesh in Palmyra despite Drawdown

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Despite the Russian announcement of a determination to withdraw the bulk of its air force from Syria, Moscow has underlined that some planes would remain and would continue to fly missions against groups the Russian Federation considers terrorists,including al-Qaeda (Jabhat al-Nusra) and Daesh (ISIL, ISIS). Thus, […]