Butcher of Damascus. Gasser of children. Baby Killer of Syria. Tool of Moscow. Cruel despot. Monster. These are all names the western media and politicians routinely heap on Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad. He has now become the top Mideast villain, the man we love to hate. As a veteran Mideast watcher, I find all this…
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and appointed the hawkish CIA chief, Mike Pompeo, to replace him. Tillerson, who’d come to government service as the CEO of Exxon-Mobil, one of the largest energy companies in the world, often butted heads with Trump’s free-wheeling, chaotic style of decision-making regarding foreign policy….
The independent convergence of American and Syrian interests against Turkey’s anti-terrorist campaign is coincidental and doesn’t imply a “conspiracy”, but it’s also instructive in the sense that it proves that it’s possible for the most unlikely pair of countries to tacitly agree on a subject of shared interest, despite this allegedly being impossible according to…
It’s easy to think the war is over. Until mortars from Ghouta swish over Damascus and explode in the old Christian area of Bab el-Touma with its grocery shops and restaurants. Six dead. Or when an army officer comes and says quite casually to you: “Remember Captain Walid? He was martyred four days ago.” I’ve…
The Donald Trump administration is planning to install a 30,000 strong armed “security force” in northern Syria along the borders with Turkey and Iraq. This presumably will tie together and support the remaining rag-tags of allegedly pro-democracy rebels and will fit in with existing and proposed U.S. bases. The maneuver is part of a broader…
Three events defined the Middle East in 2017. Each was declared a military victory or a bold act of reform. Success went like pure alcohol to the victor’s head but their euphoria was short lived. Each in turn triggered an unchartered shift in regional alliances. Putin is learning that it is one thing to chase…
