By Michael G. Roskin | (Informed Comment) | – – Russian use of an Iranian airbase led some to see a Russia-Iran axis. They jumped the gun and surmised too much. In less than a week, Tehran, perhaps remembering that the constitution of the Islamic Republic prohibits foreign bases on Iranian soil, pulled Iranian permission. […]
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Syria
Is Turkey’s Pivot to Russia about Erdogan’s Survival?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Turkey’s prime minister, Yildirim Binali, has announced a significant about-face in Turkey’s Syria policy. Murat Yetkin writes: ” “The most important priority for us is to stop the bloodshed as soon as possible,” Yıldırım said at a press conference in Istanbul on Aug. 20, later adding […]
US-Allied Kurds advance in Hasaka City, NE Syria
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Clashes continued on Sunday between the Kurdish YPG [People’s Protection Units] and the Syrian Arab Army in Hasaka, according to the Egyptian press . Surveying Syrian social media, Misr24 said that the Kurds had apparently advanced into Hasaka and driven the Syrian army from some districts, […]
Near-War: US Planes almost tangle with Syrian MiGs, which bombed area of US troop Embeds
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The fighting that has broken out between Kurdish YPG fighters and the Syrian Arab Army in Hasaka, northeast Syria, is hardly a new thing. There were clashes in April. Syria says that the Kurds brought it on themselves by trying to expand into government-held territory. As […]
The Haunting Image of a Syrian Boy Who’s Only Known War
TeleSur | – – The image is haunting: A boy sits silent and stone-still in an ambulance, hands resting in his lap, his feet dangling from the chair as though suspended in mid-air, staring straight ahead, dust and dried blood covering his face like a mask. With a shock of thick, brown hair dissecting his […]
Dragon Rising? China seeks Closer military Cooperation with Syria
By Juan Cole | Informed Comment | – – The Arabic press is reporting that a high Chinese official on a visit to Damascus has announced that Beijing intends to strengthen its military relationship with the current Syrian government. At the same time he affirmed that China would avoid involvement in the civil war. Reuters […]
Does this Change Everything? Russia’s first strikes on Syria from Iran Airbases
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Russian bombers for the first time have taken off from bases in Iran to carry out air strikes on rebel targets in Syria. The US military is complaining that under a Russian agreement with the US, it was supposed to get a timely notification of Russia […]
10 Children Killed in Saudi Airstrike on Yemeni School
TeleSur | – – The Saudi-led coalition admitted children were at the site of the airstrike but jets “don’t distinguish ages” during attacks. At least 10 Yemeni children were killed in a Saudi airstrike targeting a school in Haydan, a town in rebel-held Saada province, Doctors Without Borders, a Paris-based relief agency also known as […]
People in Syria’s Manbij Rejoice by Shaving, throwing off Veil as ISIL fighters Flee
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – People in Syria’s norther town of Manbij, now entirely liberated from the rule of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL), rejoiced on Saturday. Men shaved their beards (which had been imposed on them by the fundamentalists) and women threw off their burqas (full-face veils) and burned them. The burqa […]