The  Syrian  regime is using its sweeping Counterterrorism Law and its recently established special court against human rights defenders and other peaceful activists. On June 26, 2013, the court will resume the trial of Mazen Darwish and four of his...

The Assad regime inked a secret deal that gives Russia the license to control natural gas resources in Syria, according to informed Middle Eastern security officials, World Net Daily (WND) reported. The officials said Assad last month agreed to sign the document, considered an understanding...

I'm in Oslo to give a seminar and a public lecture at the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies, and I'm looking forward to hearing how world politics looks from a Nordic perspective. I haven't been to Norway since 2009, when my visit coincided with the Norwegian Nobel Committee's surprising...

Syrian rebels battled President Bashar al-Assad's forces in and around the northern city of Aleppo on Sunday, seeking to reverse gains made by loyalist forces in the commercial hub over the last two months, activists said. The fighting, by a variety of insurgent groups, happened...