: Stephen Starr Since the revolt in Syria descended into civil war, attention has largely focused on the growing effectiveness and influence of jihadist groups fighting in the country.[1] Members of Jabhat al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham have featured prominently…
Tag: assad
Military and Islamist failure: what next
Hazem Saghieh Who can rule in the Arab and Islamic world – the military, or the Islamists? The experiences of the region in the 20th century in general, and of modern Egypt in particular, seem to present such a zero-sum…
Clash of barbarisms
elias khoury The Assad regime and the civil war in Syria In the early days of the Syrian revolution, when, after the overthrow of Ben Ali in Tunisia and Mubarak in Egypt, optimism still prevailed, people believed that the peaceful…
Is Assad Losing the War in Syria
Aron Lund Judging by a lot of the media coverage of the Syrian war, President Bashar al-Assad runs a curious sort of regime: it is always either crumbling or on the verge of victory The narrative shifts every now and…
What if No One Is Winning the War in Syria
Aron Lund Regardless of who is or is not losing the war in Syria, it is safe to say that no one seems to stand any chance of winning it. It is a lazy pattern of thought, but a strong…
Syria!,‘Systematic Torture and Killing
By: Aryn Baker / Beirut @arynebakerJan. 20, 201457 CommentsA shocking new report on the Syrian regime’s use of torture and starvation has been released by a team of renowned war-crimes prosecutors, threatening to upend Syrian peace talks scheduled to start…
Referring Syria to the international criminal court is a justified gamble
If Bashar al-Assad is indicted by the international criminal court it will be much harder for Russia to support him Against the background of mounting bloodshed and terror, Switzerland has asked the UN security council to refer the situation in…
Assad’s Pact With the Devil Syrian Regime Using Hired Killers to Cling to Power
The regime of Syrian ruler Bashar Assad has enlisted gangs of murderous thugs known as ‘Shabiha.’ No assignment is too brutal or bloody for these men who are free to kill, plunder and rape. Assad knows that outright victory over…
Berlin Approves Patriots for Turkey-Syria Border
Chancellor Merkel’s cabinet on Thursday approved a measure to send Patriot air defense missiles to Turkey as part of a NATO mission to prevent violence from spilling over from across Syrian border. Once approved by parliament, the mandate will allow the 400 German soldiers to…
The Syrian Shabiha and Their State
Even as the word shabiha emerged from Syria, to take its place in the languages of the world, the phenomenon to which it r referred was surfacing in Syria’s streets, terrorizing, murdering, and mouthing obscenities Thus a…