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Blair endorses Syria strike, calls for International Intervention

(Zaman Al Wasl)-Even though 15 years have passed since the invasion of Iraq, the picture of the former Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair is still haunting many as the biggest engineer, warmonger, and influencer of that invasion. Today, Blair’s name is trending again as the...

'Absentees law' could see millions of refugees lose lands

As thousands of Syrians flee their homes in Eastern Ghouta to escape a fierce air and ground offensive led by pro-government forces, President Bashar al-Assad has introduced a new law which can potentially see the state confiscating the lands of millions of displaced people. Law Number...

Here’s What the Trump Administration Is Really Plotting in Syria

By Hassan Hassan , Michael Weiss (The Daily Beast)- “We’re knocking the hell out of ISIS. We’ll be coming out of Syria, like, very soon. Let the other people take care of it now.” So spoke the president of the United States in Richfield, Ohio on...

At volatile Syrian front line, US, Turkey on opposing sides

Perched on a green hilltop, Kurdish and Arab fighters face a tense front line separating them from Turkish-backed forces in this part of northern Syria. Behind them, American troops drive up and down the roads. Their aim: Make their presence known to prevent bursts of gunfire from spiraling...

Trump promise to get out of Syria 'very soon' could be a win for Russia

(CNN)- If President Donald Trump makes good on his promise to get out of Syria "very soon," one of the biggest winners will be Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government. Although the Kremlin has tried to cast its involvement in Syria as primarily an air campaign, there...

Where is Yemen heading after three years of war?

This week, Saudi Arabia has seen an attack unprecedented since the first day of its military intervention in Yemen's war in March 2015. On Sunday evening, Seven missiles struck four different regions in the kingdom, including in Riyadh. It was the first time the Yemen war has directly...

For Pyongyang, Mideast offers cautionary nuclear tale

As North Korea considers negotiating over its nukes, it may find lessons in the Middle East, where leaders imperiled, paranoid or pugnacious have long used the doomsday weapon threat to secure a wobbly perch. It is a delicate dance - and getting the balance wrong can end badly. Holding...

Speak Politely Mr. President: Lesson in Freedom and Citizenship

By Ali Eid No Syrian is free from bad memories. I still remember when my 8-year-old daughter came back from her school in Damascus 2010. She was sad and seemed offended by her teacher for not knowing who is the 'Immortal Leader', such a new term pushed her to ask ‘What does...

'Pigs Brought to Slaughterhouse': Russian Mercenaries in Syria

(Zaman Al Wasl)- If it is right to say the 7th of February events represent the "mother of battles" that Washington fought directly in Syria because of the large number of fatalities, the Russian side represents what can be described as "the mother of the fighter" and for the same reason,...

What fate for foreign militants in Iraq, Syria?

QAMISHLI (AFP)- Iraq and Syria’s Kurds have netted foreign militants by the thousands but while the former is expediting trials, the latter would rather send them home. A Baghdad court Monday sentenced French woman Melina Boughedir to seven months in prison, a term she had already served by...

West won't stop the horrors in Syria even if it could. We simply don't care

Saying there are "no words" to describe a horror is infuriating. But now not saying anything has become the new way to talk about the world's nastiest war. It is essentially the job of the United Nations to find the words -- to articulate the savagery being again unleashed on the people...

The slaughter in Syria should outrage us. Yet still we just shrug

Almost anything is more interesting than the massacre of civilians in Syria. Just look at today’s front pages. The Guardian leads on the slaughter of unarmed residents in the Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta, but for the rest it’s a mix of continuing scandals in international aid...

Why do Italian fascists adore Syria's Bashar al-Assad?

Rome, Italy - Six and a half years into the ongoing bloodshed in Syria, General Issam Zahreddine, infamous for overseeing the suffocating three-year siege of Deir Az Zor, was killed by a landmine. He died in October 2017, when his vehicle hit an explosive in Hawija Saqr during the...

'Stop being so pessimistic about Saudi Arabia’s reforms'

Saudi Arabia is debunking age-old stereotypes one theatrical move at a time. The significance of this remark will not be lost on those following the reforms taking place at large, primarily in Saudi but also in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region as a whole. In...

Opposition failed 'Sochi Conspiracy' - Opinion

By Yasser Ashkar The Assad regime had a dialogue with itself in Sochi. The event had more of a carnival atmosphere than that of a serious peace talks while the lives of civilians in Syria and the future of millions of Syrian refugees still hung in the balance. There was...

Yemen in 2018: Deepening war or nearing peace?

Last year in Yemen was harsh, tumultuous and violent. 2018 has brought both hopes of bringing peace and fears of deepening war. Yemenis face two options this year: the war could be bloodier and more inhumane than the previous twelve months - or it could be a window to fruitful peace talks...

Beyond Afrin: How far will Turkey's operation against Kurds go?

On January 20, Turkey began to fulfill its many threats against the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in north-western Syria by launching Operation Olive Branch. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to remove the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) from the canton and has...

Pro-Assad Turkish militia supports PKK, calls to defend Afrin

By Ethar Abdulhaq (Zaman Al Wasl)- As Afrin military operation continues to form a new scene in the north of Syria with the force of military action, the repercussions of this military process continue to affect the political level of the states and parties, even to militias structured...