By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Russian press had been complaining that the West was ignoring its defeat of terrorism in Syria. But now the Russian press is saying that the US and the Russian Federation are jointly planning to liberate the Syrian city of al-Raqqa, the capital of the phony […]
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Syria
After Palmyra, the last days of the phony Caliphate?
TeleSur The loss of the historic city amounts to one of the biggest setbacks for the extremist group since it declared a caliphate in 2014. Syrian government forces backed by Russian airstrikes battled Islamic State group insurgents around Palmyra on Monday, trying to extend their gains after taking back control of a city whose ancient […]
Fall of Palmyra: Syrian regime races to take ISIL’s ‘Berlin’ and forestall ‘Partition’
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – That massive Russian air strikes and a determined infantry and armor assault by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) on the ancient city of Palmyra could dislodge from it a few hundred or at most a couple thousand Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) fighters is not all that surprising. […]
What would effective Counter-Terrorism look like after Brussels?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The various nostrums proposed to counter Daesh (ISIL, ISIS) terrorism in Europe and North America by Donald Trump and Ted Cruz (armed patrols by police of putative “Muslim neighborhoods”, a Muslim exclusion act, etc.) are of course complete non-starters. So too are killing the children of […]
In wake of Brussels attacks, Europe demands negotiated Settlement of Syrian Civil War, Now
By EurActiv with AFP The EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini met with Syria’s regime and opposition… (23 March) to underscore the urgency of a political solution in the country, especially in the wake of the Brussels attacks. Staffan de Mistura and Federica Mogherini in Geneva on 23 March[European Commission] Mogherini came to Geneva, where […]
Dear Trump & Cruz: Muslim Turkey arrested Brussels Terrorist & Gave him to European Authorities
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The paroxysms of hatred and bigotry spewed by the two GOP frontrunners in the 2016 presidential campaign probably do not need any pretext, since Trump and Cruz are clearly sadistic and unfair individuals. But the Brussels airport and metro attacks gave them another excuse to blame […]
Syria: Russia Targets Daesh in Palmyra despite Drawdown
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, […]
Putin: Russia can ramp back up in Syria “within hours”
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat (Life) summarized Russian sources on Thursday’s speech by Russian president Vladimir Putin: Putin made several points: 1. Russia hopes that the ceasefire and Geneva peace negotiations can now go forward relatively smoothly toward a political settlement in Syria 2. Russia will continue […]
Putin’s Syria Gambit: Surprising Views of Russian Pundits on What Moscow Achieved
By Robert Coalson | ( RFE/RL ) | – – As Russian warplanes continued their partial withdrawal from Syria two days after President Vladimir Putin unexpectedly announced that Moscow's objectives in the country had been "generally accomplished," observers debated how the move changes the situation in the volatile region. Russian analysts are divided on what […]