Syria

By Thalif Deen | (Inter Press Service) | – – UNITED NATIONS, Dec 16 2015 (IPS) – When German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her immigration policies early this week — and announced plans to absorb about one million refugees, mostly from Syria — she was apparently greeted with a nine-minute standing ovation by members of […]

Syria

Could an end to Syria’s civil war be in sight?

contributors

By James Gelvin | (The Conversation) | – – If, as cliché has it, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, isn’t the recent flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at bringing about a negotiated settlement to the Syrian civil war insane? None of the previous attempts […]

Human Rights

If the Dead could Speak: The Real People Syrian Regime Tortured to Death

Juan Cole

By Human Rights Watch | – – "If the Dead Could Speak" reveals some of the human stories behind the more than 28,000 photos of deaths in government custody that were smuggled out of Syria and first came to public attention in January 2014. “Just about every detainee in these photographs was someone’s beloved child, […]

Arab World

Top 5 Ways Saudi Arabia really could fight Terrorism, & not by a Vague Coalition

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Over the past three days, Saudi Arabia has abruptly put together a 35-nation Muslim coalition to fight terrorism. Saudi interest in this fight is not new, and the kingdom itself has suffered from armed non-governmental groups targeting innocent non-combatants. In 2003-2006, al-Qaeda and other extremist cells […]

Iraq

Is the US Suddenly entering a Major new War in Iraq & Syria?

contributors

Paul Rogers | ( OpenDemocracy) | – – The spreading influence of ISIS is forcing Washington into a strategic decision: escalate. Suddenly, and without almost anyone noticing, the war against ISIS in Syria and Iraq is developing and growing rapidly. Some elements are already clear enough: they include the expansion of ISIS-controlled territory in Libya, […]

Featured

Should an al-Qaeda Ally have a seat at the Syrian Table? Al-Assad rejects talks w/ any armed Group

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Riyadh conference of the Syrian opposition this week included political groups but also nine armed bands. One of the nine, the Free Men of Syria or Ahrar al-Sham, has a formal alliance with al-Qaeda in Syria, the Nusra Front. I don’t think the US and […]

Featured

Russo-Turkish Conflict over Syria & Iraq Boils: “Manifestations of impotent Rage”

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Turkish and Russian government have continued their war of words that followed on the shooting down of an Su-25 bomber on Nov. 24. Issues include a new Turkish accusation that Russian bombing in the north of Latakia province aims at ethnically cleansing the Turkmen populations […]

Syria

10 facts the government doesn’t want you to know about Syria

contributors

By Ian Sinclair | (Open Democracy) | – – Following the Paris terrorist attacks on 13 November 2015, the British government has got its wish to join the air campaign against Islamic State (IS or ISIS) in Syria, winning the parliamentary vote on 2 December 2015. With many of the government’s dubious assertions often either […]

Colonialism

Western Invasions can’t fix the Middle East because they wrecked the Middle East

contributors

By Baher Kamal | (Inter Press Service) | – – MADRID (IPS) – One hundred years ago, on 6 May 1916, two men, Briton Sir Mark Sykes and French diplomat François Georges-Picot, were entrusted by their respective governments with a rather exceptional task. That task, which initially counted with the assent of the Tsarist Russia, […]