Rudaw: The situation in Syria is turning increasingly violent and the western world has called on President Bashar al-Assad to step down. Where do you think things will go from here? Abdulhakim Bashar: The Syrian regime will not fall merely based on the words and pleas of the west. The regime has made up its […]
Geography Archives: Syria
Washington’s Syria Policy Battle: Interventionists versus Non-Interventionists
Two distinct camps are forming to battle over Syria policy in Washington. The first is made up of the neocons, who are busy fitting the Arab Spring into US strategic interests as they see them. John Bolton, Michael Doran, and Elliott Abrams have been leading the charge in articulating this argument. The second group are […]
Libya News Roundup
Richard Seymour (20 August 2011): “I think we would see a recomposition of the old regime, without Qadhafi but with the basic state structures intact. The former regime elements would become regime elements, within a pro-US, neoliberal state with some limited political democracy. In addition, those calling for intervention in Syria would be strengthened, as […]
Who Defends Syria’s Sovereignty?
NPR’s “The Diane Rehm Show” is an excellent barometer. Each day Ms. Rehm interviews figures from the commanding heights of the Washington establishment. Elected officials, Pentagon officers, foundation grunts, academics, media personalities and reporters, and the diplomatic corps all pass through her studio. Syria was the focus of Ms. Rehm’s first hour on 17 August. […]
London’s Most Wanted
“Wanted for Terrorism” Victor Nieto is a cartoonist in Venezuela. His cartoons frequently appear in Aporrea and Rebelión among other sites. Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com). Cf. “David Cameron Back Councils Planning to Evict Rioters” (BBC, 12 August 2011); “[F]or the press and the western governments, those demonstrating in British, Greek, […]
Syrians Tweet Back to Obama
After US President Barack Obama declared on 18 August 2011: “For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for President Assad to step aside.” . . . Haneen Khaddour (18 August 2011): “Here we go again #american intervention. No one wants you in #syria” Sate (18 August 2011): “Ya’ aha Obama. So […]
Regarding the Situation in Syria: “We Do Not Share the US and EU Point of View concerning President Bashar al-Assad”
Comment by Press and Information Department of Russian Foreign Ministry on a Question from Interfax News Agency Regarding the Situation in Syria Question: Please comment on the calls of US President Barack Obama and EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Catherine Ashton for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down. Answer: Our position on the […]
Venezuela and Iran to Raise Levels of Coordination at OPEC in View of Financial Crisis
Communiqué The president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Comandante Hugo Chávez, communicated by telephone with the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in the afternoon of the 15th of August, 2011. President Ahmadinejad said to President Chávez that, in this sacred month of Ramadan, he and millions of Iranians are praying […]
Who Is Reading Syrian Opposition Web Sites?
E.g., Syrian Revolution 2011 Fidaaldin Al-Sayed Issa, the Swedish administrator of the Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook page (11 May 2011): “We have analyzed the IP addresses of our users and about 35% are Syrian residing in Syria, 50% are from the Syrian Diaspora around the world and the remaining 15% are other Arabs in other […]
The Race with Iran: Saudi Arabia’s Sectarian Card
Four months ago, we returned from a trip to the Middle East and wrote that “the main question engaging people with respect to the Arab Spring is no longer, ‘who’s next,’ but rather how far will Saudi Arabia go in pushing a ‘counter-revolutionary agenda’ across the [region].” Since then, something of a discussion, if not […]
The Future of Arab Revolts: Interview with Samir Amin
The way Egyptian scholar and researcher Samir Amin sees it, nothing will be the same as before in the Arab world: protest movements will challenge both the internal social order of Arab countries and their places in the regional and global political chessboard. Hassane Zerrouky: How do you see what’s happening in the Arab […]
Libya — Lather, Rinse, Repeat — Syria: Liberal Imperialism and the Refusal to Learn
Two of my favorite quotes come into play here, one by the English poet, Alexander Pope, who explained that “some people will never learn anything . . . because they understand everything too soon,” and George Bernard Shaw, much more resigned and ironic in stating that “we learn from experience that men never learn anything […]
Saudi King Calls for Freedom in Syria
The King of Saudi Arabia calls for “freedom” in Syria . . . but where in Saudi Arabia is Khaled al-Johani? Saad Hajo is a Syrian cartoonist. This cartoon was first published in As-Safir on 9 August 2011; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes. | Print
Middle East News Roundup: Arab Spring, Royal Summer, Islamist Autumn
Egypt Amin Saikal (ABC, 29 July 2011): “The Islamist parties [in Egypt] now stand a good chance to win an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections in November, and also contest successfully the presidential election. . . . According to an Aljazeera public opinion survey, released on July 7, 2011, nearly 50 per cent of […]
Cuba Opposes Any Attempt to Undermine the Independence, Sovereignty, and Territorial Integrity of Syria
We wish to express our deep concern for the treatment of Syria’s internal situation at the United Nations Security Council, beginning with strong pressures exerted by the Western powers who are members of this organ, in order to adopt decisions against the legitimate government of Syria. Taking into account the experiences of, and precedents […]
Interview with Joshua Landis: Sanctions against Syria Will Only Hurt People
Joshua Landis: Hama, which is the center of this crackdown, left government control about three weeks ago. The governor called off the troops and withdrew security from the town. He was summarily fired. The government realized that this was a big mistake. . . . The government is clearly trying to take control of […]
Syrian Tweets: “Peaceful Protests”?
Syrian Commando (2 August 2011): “Peaceful demonstration tools in #Hama #Syria for Ramadan http://t.co/FyPY1NM“ Eslam Jawaad (2 August 2011): “Father is Druze. Mother is Alawite. They raised me as Muslim. My wife is Sunni. Brother’s wife Christian. F#$k sectarianism. Pray for #Syria“ 3arabiSouri (2 August 2011): “Syrians r so grateful to our Libyan brothers, if […]
Syria: What Is Going On in Hama?
Hama has suffered for the (at least) past three weeks from lawlessness and nearly complete absence of the entire state and its organs, and from control by groups of armed teenagers and criminals who (left without any other choice, in the opinion of the US and French ambassadors) actually erected roadblocks and expropriated the […]
US Embassy at Work in Syria
“Conspirators Wanted” Victor Nieto is a cartoonist in Venezuela. His cartoons frequently appear in Aporrea and Rebelión among other sites. Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com). Cf. Fayez Nahabieh, “Réflexion sur les origines de la crise syrienne et les moyens d’en sortir” (InfoSyrie, 15 July 2011); Alastair Crooke, “Unfolding the Syrian Paradox” […]
Still Trying to Detonate a War against Syria
Still lacking a fire starter called diplomacy, Uncle Sam fails to detonate a war against Syria. Hamid Karout is a Syrian cartoonist. This cartoon was first published in Tishreen on 14 July 2011; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes. Cf. “‘The OIC has a strong desire to build national dialogue between governments and […]
