Syria

America’s Fickle Relationship with the Kurds: Review of “Rethinking State-Non-State Alliances: Change and Continuity in the U.S.-Kurdish Relationship”

Barcelona (Special to Informed Comment) – Review of Ozum Yesiltas, Rethinking State-Non-State Alliances: Change and Continuity in the U.S.-Kurdish Relationship (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2022). The Kurds of Syria and Iraq have been at the forefront of the fight against the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Their fight against the radical group brought […]

Displaced and Refugees

A Syrian Academic at the Fringe: why I put on a Show to reclaim the Stories of Refugees like Me

The Conversation

By Lina Fadel, Heriot-Watt University | – This summer I performed my own one-woman show at the 75th Edinburgh Fringe – a sentence I never thought I would write in my 17 years of living in the UK. But there I was, a Syrian academic on stage in Edinburgh in front of a microphone, high […]

Bashar al-Assad

Is US fight against Shiite Militias in Syria becoming entangled in Russia-US Ukraine Tensions?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – AP reports that early today, Wednesday, the US military launched air strikes against Iran-backed Shiite militias in Deir al-Zor Province, eastern Syria. The bombings came in response to drone attacks on the US base at Tanf, Syria, allegedly by these militias, on August 15. Those drone actions did not result […]

Bashar al-Assad

Biden Calls on Syria to Return Journalist ‘Disappeared’ a Decade Ago

Human Rights Watch

( Human Rights Watch ) – Last week, US President Joe Biden declared that the US knows “with certainty” that Tice has been held by the Syrian government. “I am calling on Syria to end this and help us bring him home,” Biden said in a statement. Tice, who was covering the conflict in Syria […]

Displaced and Refugees

How displaced Syrians effectively navigated ‘border frictions’ in Lebanon and Turkey

The Conversation

By Suzan Ilcan, University of Waterloo and Secil Dagtas, University of Waterloo | – The Syrian conflict began in early March 2011 on the heels of the Arab Spring as pro-democracy uprisings in Syria demanded regime change and political reform. The conflict transformed into a war. More than 13 million people have either escaped the […]

Books

‘Summer with the Enemy’ by Syrian novelist Shahla Ujayli is a searing summer read

The Conversation

By Michelle Hartman, McGill University | – Wherever you spend your summer, allow yourself to be transported to Syria and immerse yourself in the world of Shahla Ujayli’s sweeping historical novel Summer with the Enemy. The ongoing devastation of the war that began in 2011 has brought Syria to the world’s attention. Reading a Syrian […]

Israel

Israel fears a Nightmare Scenario as the Crisis with Russia escalates

Middle East Monitor

By Adnan Abu Amer | – Israel is convinced that Moscow’s threat to close down the Jewish Agency in Russia is retaliation for the Zionist state’s positions on the war in Ukraine. In fact, Israel now fears that the crisis with Russia will escalate further, which has prompted officials in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs […]

Featured

Russia announces $40 Bn. Investment in Iran Oil & Gas, as Khamenei Supports Putin’s invasion of Ukraine

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey arrived on Tuesday in Tehran for a summit on guaranteeing the Syrian peace process in the framework of the Astana negotiations. But since this summit took place in the wake of President Joe Biden’s trip to the Middle East to create a united […]

Displaced and Refugees

The World must Act to restore Funding to Syria to avert a Humanitarian Catastrophe

Middle East Monitor

By Jessica Adams | – Once again, last week, the people of northwest Syria were granted a last-minute reprieve. The aid community feared disaster had finally happened, after years of near misses, that the UN Security Council would fail to renew the last aid border crossing from Turkey into Idlib. Thankfully, days after it expired, […]