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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
What happens when you are an autonomous entity who happens to be in the middle of prime infrastructure and oil deals? What if there were no checks and balances or a system that ensures public funds land where they should?…
Diplomacy is the Only Way to Preserve What’s Left of Syria “Cry ‘Havoc,’ and let slip the dogs of war That this foul deed shall smell above the earth With carrion men, groaning for burial” – Julius Caesar, Act 3, scene…
Syrian warplanes targeted several residential districts of the northern city of Aleppo today, killing at least five people including three children from one family, a rights watchdog said The five were killed and others were wounded in the central district…