(By Juan Cole) The Geneva II negotiations at Montreux, Switerland, opened on a sour note on Wednesday. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem droned on interminably and charged the rebel forces with being “traitors” supported by bloodthirsty foreign powers. Secretary of State John Kerry demanded that President Bashar al-Assad step down in favor of a transitional […]
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Free Syrian Army
As Geneva II Conference Opens, 1.3 mn. Syrian Refugees Shiver in Lebanon
(By Molly Crabapple) COFFEE WITH REFUGEES (via techexile.com) “In Lebanon’s Mountains, Syrians Face a Grim Future The teacher never imagined he would live in a tent. He once taught high school philosophy in Homs. He holds a Masters Degree. But now he lives with several dozen other refugee families in a huddle… —– Related […]
Fear is Driving Diplomacy on Syria, not Humanitarianism
(By Martin Gascoigne) Syria, like many countries in the region, is a demographically young country. With a population of 23 million. Slightly over a third are estimated to be below the age of 14. The ‘Arab Spring’ had its well-spring in such demographics. If a lack of hope heralded hopeful changes; it has been a […]
Taking on al-Qaeda: Syria’s Uprising within an Uprising
(By Rania Abouzeid) It was bound to happen, this uprising within an uprising against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a transnational ultraconservative Islamist group that ostensibly fights alongside Syria’s disparate rebel groups but more often intimidates, antagonises, or opposes most of them, including other conservative Islamists. Long brewing tensions between ISIS and […]
Taliban on the Euphrates: Syria fighters Dump Moderate SNC, Aim for Fundamentalist State
The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat [Life] reports that 14 bands of fighters in Syria have broken with the moderate Syrian National Council led by Ahmad al-Jarba and have repudiated its Free Syrian Army. The importance of this development should not be underestimated. It will throw a scare into Baghdad and Amman, and will provoke serious thought […]