Some of us have wondered why Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would drop tear gas in the suburbs of the seat of his government and his own home, Damascus. After all, the wind could blow the gas into his backyard. Nor did it make sense in light of how calls for...
For almost a century, the Kurds—one of the world’s largest ethnic groups without its own state—have been deceived and double-crossed, their language and culture suppressed, their villages burned and bombed, and their people scattered. But because of the U.S. invasion...
Calls for intervention are rearing their ugly head again in light of charges that the Syrian military mounted a poison gas attack outside Damascus. (Syria’s capital and home to President Assad: gives new meaning to “fouling your nest,” aka “s****ing the bed.”) While...
Syrian Rebel-Force Futility “If a regular Syrian comes and asks me what we have given him, I don’t know what to say,” Ahmed said. Momentum Shifts in Syria, Bolstering Assad’s Position, Ben Hubbard, the New York Times Netanyahu, Agitator-in-Chief on Iran The amped-up...
The Obama administration’s decision to directly supply weapons to the Syrian opposition may end up torpedoing the possibility of a political settlement. It will almost certainly accelerate the chaos spreading from the almost three-year old civil war. It will also align Washington with one of the most undemocratic alliances on the planet, and one that looks increasingly unstable. In short, we are headed into a perfect political storm.
The United States should not get involved in a civil war with unknown and dangerous ramifications for the region. It should not get involved in supporting an opposition that is ready to inflict a bloodbath on Syrian minorities, and it should not abet the rise of extremist al-Qaeda-affiliated groups.
Significant segments of the U.S. public are not falling for this ploy.
The vast majority will not likely return to where they once lived.
To caring citizens of the world, the helplessness of watching a people suffer is a form of torture.
Emphasis, as always, added.