« War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength ». George Orwell, 1984. In the ’80’s and ’90’s, Kurdish society was extremely feudal and patriarchal. It was maintained in a severe state of under-development, which pressured the Kurds to rise up against the military dictatorships which succeeded one another in Ankara [1]. The Kurdistan Workers’…
The U.S. Department of Defense is reportedly still funneling billions of dollars’ worth of Soviet-era weaponry to anti-Islamic State groups in Syria, with questionable oversight. In a joint report published Tuesday, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) allege that the Pentagon has given up to $2.2…
For decades, Israel has had significant links to Kurdish groups throughout the Middle East. Long before President Erdogan led what in many ways amounts to a counter-revolution in Turkish politics, Israel’s support of Kurdish separatist movements throughout the region, was often a sore point between Ankara and Tel Aviv, who apart from this issue, tended…
Something rather unprecedented just happened in Syria: US backed “good terrorist” forces attempted a surprise attack against Syrian government forces stationed to the north and northeast of the city of Hama. What makes this attack unique is that it took place inside a so-called “de-escalation zone” and that it appears that one of the key…
In discussing President Trump, there is always the soft prejudice of low expectations – people praise him for reading from a Teleprompter even if his words make little sense – but there is no getting around the reality that his maiden address to the United Nations General Assembly must rank as one of the most…
On September 19, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the National Defense Forces (NDF) repelled a huge attack of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) on Ma’an in northern Hama. A fighting was also reported in Tulaysiyah, Tel Al-Aswad, Al-Qahira, Al-Zughbi and Al-Raya. In total, about 40 militants were killed….
