Tariq Ali: I don’t think sanctions work. They are essentially a symbolic measure. Usually when sanctions are applied against a country, they affect the poor people in that country more than the ruling elites, as we saw for years before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. They had imposed a bloody sanctions regime, […]
Geography Archives: Syria
Who Benefits from Sanctioning Syria’s Assad?
Sanctioning President Assad — what can it accomplish? Most importantly, it will help President Obama in his presidential campaign. He can stand as someone who acts firmly against Arab dictators. He killed Bin Laden and sanctioned Bashar al-Assad. He takes decisive action and stands with the Arab street and for democracy. This will serve him […]
The Revolt in Syria
The movement, which I’d call a popular movement for a Syrian revolution, has sought the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad since it first began in the southern city of Daraa when [two teenagers were arrested for painting a slogan on the walls] that has been the main one at every demonstration ever since: “The people […]
Who’s Winning the Great Game in the Middle East?
Meanwhile, Iran keeps growing its nuclear program (Bushehr, Natanz, Isfahan, etc.) . . . Fahd Bahady is a Syrian cartoonist. This cartoon was first published in his blog on 17 May 2011; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes. Cf. “‘Sit long enough by the river and the corpse of your enemy will float […]
Obama on the Middle East: Sticking with a Failed Script
May 18, 2011 In an effort to define the dominant narrative about the ongoing Arab awakening and America’s role in the Middle East, President Obama will give what the White House is billing as a major address on Middle East policy. However eloquently delivered, the address will not be able to overcome or compensate for […]
Opposition’s Call for General Strike Falls on Deaf Ears in Syria
DAMASCUS, May 18 (RIA Novosti) The Syrian opposition’s calls to hold a general day-long strike on Wednesday have been largely ignored, Aljazeera reported. The Syrian opposition called for a general strike as the government denied reports that it has been burying anti-government protesters in mass graves. “Wednesday will be a day of punishment for the […]
Returning to Jaffa: The Triumphant Odyssey of Palestinian Refugee Hassan Hijazi
Hassan Hijazi, a Syrian-Palestinian youth, is as surprised as the Israeli police. Hassan, who is a civil servant in the Education Ministry of Syria, had never imagined, even in his wildest dream, that one day he would be able to stroll on the streets of Jaffa, a city annexed to Tel Aviv. “My parents […]
On Syria and Libya
Question: Today, Clinton stated that the US considered it necessary to step up pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. How can you comment on this? Foreign Minister Lavrov: No one is happy when in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, as in all other states there are disturbing developments, with blood […]
Syria: Releasing Detainees, Government Seeks to Meet Opposition Demands
With the release of some detainees, the Syrian government has met at least partially one of the demands of the Syrian opposition, according to Reuters, which interviewed Ammar Qurabi of the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria on Thursday. Hassan Abdel Azim, who is 81 years old, and Hazem al-Nahar were released on Monday. […]
Russia and China on Syria
Moscow against UN Security Council Taking Up Syria — Source MOSCOW, May 11 (Interfax) — Moscow is against the Syria issue being put before the UN Security Council, a Russian Foreign Ministry source said on Wednesday. “Syria mustn’t be discussed in the Security Council, that is obvious,” the source told Interfax. China Calls on […]
Intervention in the Name of Stability
Intervention in the Name of Stability Professor Noam Chomsky recently delivered an important address in Amsterdam entitled “Contours of the World Order.”1 A large part of the speech was devoted to the role of the United States in defending its area of absolute hegemony. According to Chomsky’s excellent analysis, the US relates to all countries […]
Syria: To Amend Article 8 of the Constitution, But Not to Allow the Establishment of Religious Parties
The Lebanese newspaper Al-Bana’a reports that, according to sources close to the decision-making circles in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad will soon announce the amendment of Article 8 of the Constitution, which limits the country’s leadership to the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party, so as to include all parties affiliated with the Progressive National Front in […]
On Syria, Democracy, and Imperialism
The trajectory of the democratic movement in the Arab world was never going to be a straight line with clear goals and objectives. The Arab regimes are not homogeneous; they have medieval Islamist monarchies, as in Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states, and secular but completely authoritarian regimes, both Western puppets like Mubarak and […]
Feeding the Arab Uprisings
I’ll be talking about the relationship between food and the uprisings. I call them uprisings, I don’t call them revolutions, for a multitude of reasons that I will address. . . . One of the most common assertions is that these uprisings were triggered, at least partly, by high food prices. I would like to […]
“Nobody in the World Has Freedom”: Report from Damascus
It’s pretty hard to talk with Syrians about politics, as they say such things as: “Don’t believe that ‘I am an American and I have freedom.’ You are stupid. Why are you telling me this? You understand me? Nobody has freedom.” This video, originally broadcast by Index on 22 April 2011, was released on YouTube […]
Cuba Opposes Any Foreign Interference in Syria
Statement of Cuban Ambassador Rodolfo Reyes, at the Special Session of the Human Rights Council, on the human rights situation in Syria, Geneva, 29 April 2011 Mr. President: Cuba condemns the hypocrisy and double standards on which the convocation of this special session is based. Human rights are not its genuine motive. The motive is […]
No Revolution in Syria: An Interview with Camille Otrakji
Camille Otrakji is a Syrian political blogger based in Montreal. Although he tends to keep a low profile, Otrakji has been, for the past several years, at the forefront of many of the most interesting and influential online initiatives relating to Syrian politics. He is one of the authors and moderators at Joshua Landis’s Syria […]
Syria and the United States
Robert Rabil. Syria, the United States, and the War on Terror in the Middle East. Westport: Praeger, 2006. xxvi + 289 pp. $49.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-275-99015-2. Robert Rabil’s book examines the ups and downs in Syrian-U.S. relations. The final portion of its title, the War on Terror in the Middle East is, in reality, […]
Hamas’s Option in Syria
Two political analysts shared their view with Islam Online: the leadership of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas” will not leave Syria unless it is asked to do so. They say that it is not in the interest of Hamas to leave Damascus now. An Internal Affair London’s Al-Hayat newspaper claimed that Hamas decided […]
None to Lead but Reason
You’ve had your way a long, long time, You kings and tyrants, And still you work injustice hour by hour. What ails you that do not tread a path of glory? A man may take the field, although he love the bower. But some hope a divine leader with prophetic voice Will rise amid the […]
