Tag Archives: Bashar al-Assad

Was this a one-off intervention – or a sign that Trump will undertake more of an effort to undermine the Assad regime?

Americans may reasonably ask if some Middle Eastern countries with estimated armies of around 3 million are unwilling or incapable of marshaling forces sufficient to defeat 30,000 ISIL fighters, why should America put “more boots on the ground”?

The 2011 Arab revolutions hugely effected Turkey's orientation towards the Middle East. Its foreign policy moved from a diplomatic, non-interference policy to an interventionist, revisionist one, even imperialist to some people. In terms of policymaking, Turkey resembled the US, relying on its military might to shape the direction of its foreign relations. But now it risks losing all its gains achieved in the last decade.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Jordan are all on board against Islamic State. What’s in it for them?

Contrary to the view that extremism thrives when America is absent, empirical facts indicate that the opposite is truer. And each of the countries at the center of global concerns over extremism is in fact one that has seen direct or indirect western intervention, not western absence

The repression in Egypt, the war in Syria and the political suffocation in Algeria make conditions for an election impossible, with even nominal campaigning by challengers inconceivable. Besides, the scale of the victory comes with a whiff of the ridiculous. The point was not to secure a victory in these elections — which was inevitable — but to secure a mandate with a high turnout.

Bashar al-Assad’s victory in the June 3 Syrian presidential election and continuous supply of more powerful weapons to supposedly vetted oppositional forces by the US, Turkey and Gulf Arab countries make it certain that more bloodshed, displacement and death await the war-torn country.

(Photo by FreedomHouse, Creative Commons License) Several Balkan mothers burst into tears at the beginning of 2014 after being told their sons were killed fighting in Syria on the side of various Islamist militias. Mirza Ganic (19) from the Serbian province of Sandzak, who used the pseudonym “Abu Shehid,” was among the last that became a real “shehid” (martyr). The …

Syria naturally dominates the news because of its violent war. But the real story in the Middle East with a greater impact on the future of the region is the unraveling and disintegration of Iraq.   Iraq, and not Syria, is the epicenter of the Sunni-Shiite war in the Arab world. The battle for Damascus may just be the prelude …

As President Barack Obama weighs his options on Syria, media in South Asian countries is advising caution, fearing despite all good intentions, an attack on Syria could spiral out of control.