With Syria’s nearly seven-year war now virtually over, the process of rebuilding the devastated country comes to the fore, with the financial cost of that effort put at $200 billion. Who pays for it? When you view the ruins of Aleppo alone, Syria’s second biggest city, plus the carnage across the entire country, from towns,…
The withdrawal of Russian military forces from parts of Syria and its consequences caused numerous responses in the political and media circles of the Middle East. Yahya Al-Aridi, the official representative of the Syrian opposition at Geneva-8 peace talks, announced in this respect that the opposition welcomes any step contributing to the reestablishment of peace…
Russia’s “military diplomacy” in the war-torn Central African Republic is designed to stabilize part of Africa’s “Failed State Belt” and set the stage for Moscow to eventually move its peacemaking efforts to the continent’s next cauldron of chaos in the neighboring Congo, all with the intent of reasserting its historic Great Power role in Africa…
Five days ago the Russian Ministry of Defense said that on November 23rd in eastern Syria a US F-22 fighter prevented a pair of Russian ground attack jets from carrying out their mission (striking ISIS positions near the Euphrates river) as it “fired heat flares and released braking flaps, constantly maneuvering, to simulate a dogfight.”…
On Monday, US National Security Advisor HR McMaster added to tensions in the Middle East when he condemned Turkey and Qatar as prime sponsors of extremist Islamist ideology. He tore into the Turkish leadership, saying the country’s growing problems with the West are largely due to the rise of the Justice and Development Party in…
Mainstream media in 2013: “Conspiracy Theorists!” Mainstream media in 2017: “ISIS Got a Powerful Missile the CIA Bought!” Years late to the party, mainstream media outlets like USA Today, Reuters, and Buzzfeed are just out with “breaking” and “exclusive” stories detailing how a vast arsenal of weapons sent to Syria by the CIA in cooperation with…
