Archive for 2012

News Round Up (28 December 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Friday, December 28th, 2012

“Women: The Forgotten Victims” by Aida Dalati

Posted by Joshua on Friday, December 28th, 2012

“Washington doesn’t care about Syria,” Landis, News Round Up (Dec. 23, 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, December 23rd, 2012

News Round Up (21 December 2012) Debate over al-Nusra

Posted by Joshua on Friday, December 21st, 2012

“Is an Alawite State in Syria’s Future?,”Cecily Hilleary interviews Joshua Landis

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, December 20th, 2012

Latakia will become Focus of Alawi-Sunni Contest; Scorched Earth; Hama in Flames; 27% of US Public Say…

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, December 18th, 2012

Swedes, jihadis & anti-air missiles in northern Syria

Posted by Aron Lund on Tuesday, December 18th, 2012

News Round Up (17 December 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Monday, December 17th, 2012

Betting on Bashar’s Expire Date; Russia Prevaricates; National Coalition Struggles

Posted by Joshua on Friday, December 14th, 2012

Recognition, Scuds, Ministry of Interior, Controversy over Jabhat al-Nusra

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, December 12th, 2012

Obama Recognizes National Coalition; Trudy Rubin – “Arm Rebels”

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, December 12th, 2012

“Three Scenarios for Syria’s Future,” by Joshua Landis w. Lara Setrakian

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

Syrian Militias Establish New Command – Pro-Jabhat al-Nusra Alliance Emerges

Posted by Joshua on Monday, December 10th, 2012

“Chemical Weapons in Syria: Fact, Fiction, and Fib,” by Aron Lund

Posted by Joshua on Saturday, December 8th, 2012

“Islamism and the Syrian revolution,” by Aron Lund

Posted by Joshua on Saturday, December 8th, 2012

Chemical Weapons; Jabhat al-Nusra; The End Game; Recognizing National Coalition

Posted by Joshua on Friday, December 7th, 2012

News Round Up (1 December 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, December 2nd, 2012

“Syria’s Long Civil War” by Glenn Robinson

Posted by Joshua on Friday, November 30th, 2012

“The Struggle for Abu Kamal: Peace after Defeating the Dictator’s Forces,” by Asaad al-Saleh

Posted by Joshua on Friday, November 30th, 2012

Opposition Claims 4 Jets Shot down Today – The Alawite Existential Dilemma

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, November 28th, 2012

Syria: the Strategic Prize for New and More Religious Sunni Leaders of the Middle East

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, November 28th, 2012

Will Assad Soon Abandon the North to Rebel Control?

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, November 22nd, 2012

Announcement of Islamic State in Aleppo Met with Widespread Denials. Opposition Gains Ground and Recognition in Europe

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, November 20th, 2012

The Khatib Controversy – How Liberal is He? More Countries Recognize National Coalition

Posted by Joshua on Friday, November 16th, 2012

“The Formation of Syria’s National Coalition: An Assessment and Analysis,” By Amr al-Azm

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, November 13th, 2012

New Syrian Leadership Electrifies Opposition: Ten Countries Promise Recognition

Posted by Joshua on Monday, November 12th, 2012

Clinton Effort to Create Syrian Government in Exile Collapses

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

Syria Disintegrating

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, November 6th, 2012

Clinton’s Effort to Build a Syrian Government in Exile Seems Doomed

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, November 4th, 2012

Kurds and FSA Fight as Clinton’s Efforts to Build New Government Stir Hornet’s Nest

Posted by Joshua on Saturday, November 3rd, 2012

Clinton Helps Shape New Syrian Gov in Exile

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, November 1st, 2012

Syrian War Spillover in Iraq Will Be Much Worse than in Lebanon

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, October 28th, 2012

The Kurds and the PKK in Ashrafiye, Aleppo

Posted by Joshua on Friday, October 26th, 2012

Rebel Troops Take Two Christian and One Kurdish Neighborhood Thursday Morning (Oct 25, 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, October 25th, 2012

Criticism

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012

The US Must Supply anti-Aircraft Missiles to the Syrian Opposition

Posted by Joshua on Monday, October 22nd, 2012

Syrian Rebels Getting Stronger – They Fit a Mold: Poor, Pious, Rural

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, October 18th, 2012

Jihadists Receiving Arms Meant for Syrian Rebels

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, October 16th, 2012

Is a Turkey-Syria conflict inevitable? – Inside Syria: Aljazeera

Posted by Joshua on Monday, October 15th, 2012

Turkey and Syria – Will Turkey Go to War?

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, October 14th, 2012

News Round Up (October 11, 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, October 11th, 2012

Sheikh Arour Becomes Icon of the the Revolutionary Military Councils

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, October 7th, 2012

Car Bombs Rip Apart Saadallah al-Jabiri Square in Aleppo

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012

The Families of Qardaha; Hizbullah Fighters Killed in Syria; Iran’s Currency Collapses from Sanctions

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012

Intra-Alawite fighting in Qardaha not Confirmed; Turkey Denies Syria Captured Pilots Alive; `Ar`our Returns to Syria

Posted by Joshua on Monday, October 1st, 2012

Aleppo Burns – Dar Zamaria, Sisi House and much of Souq reported Burned

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, September 30th, 2012

Firas Tlass Offers to Finance Syrian Opposition with Worthless Assets

Posted by Joshua on Friday, September 28th, 2012

News Round Up (Sept 27, 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, September 27th, 2012

News Round Up (Sept 25, 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, September 25th, 2012

“Why Manaf Tlas is Uniquely Qualified to Serve the Opposition,” by a Supporter

Posted by Joshua on Monday, September 24th, 2012

Has the Syria State Collapsed?

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, September 23rd, 2012

“State of the Internal Opposition,” by Ammar Abdulhamid

Posted by Joshua on Saturday, September 22nd, 2012

Syrian Kurdistan: Can it Make a Peaceful Transition?

Posted by Joshua on Friday, September 21st, 2012

News Round Up (19 Sept 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, September 19th, 2012

Many Christians Head for Tartus

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, September 18th, 2012

Assad’s Army Unlikely to “Crumble”

Posted by Joshua on Monday, September 17th, 2012

News Round Up (Sept 12, 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, September 12th, 2012

News Round Up (Sept. 10, 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, September 9th, 2012

“The Formation of Alawite Militias in the Kassab region,” by Mohammad D.

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, September 6th, 2012

Flood of Refugees Underlines the Spreading Sectarian War

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, September 5th, 2012

The Flood of Syrian Refugees Threatens Regional Stability and Underlines Price of Inaction

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, August 29th, 2012

Darayya Massacre Escalates Killings

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, August 26th, 2012

Turkey’s Syria Problem

Posted by Joshua on Saturday, August 25th, 2012

Syria and the US – by Sami Moubayed – New Book

Posted by Joshua on Friday, August 24th, 2012

Nuri al-Maliki’s Strategy toward Syria and Syrian Kurds

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012

News Round Up (22 Aug. 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012

“Revolt in Syria,” Stephen Starr’s Book; Sahner on Syrian Heritage beign Destroyed; Ajami on Clinton

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, August 21st, 2012

Assad’s Kurdish Strategy

Posted by Joshua on Monday, August 20th, 2012

“The Original Shabiha,” by Mohammad D.

Posted by Joshua on Friday, August 17th, 2012

News Round Up (14 Aug 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, August 14th, 2012

Was Insufficient Economic Growth A Critical Factor? – A SyriaComment Article From 2006 By Ehsani

Posted by Ehsani on Saturday, August 11th, 2012

Creating a Syrian Swamp: Assad’s ‘Plan B’

Posted by Joshua on Friday, August 10th, 2012

Could Syria’s Current Predicament Have Been Avoided Over A Decade Ago? – By Ehsani

Posted by Ehsani on Friday, August 3rd, 2012

Rebels Get Missiles; Kurds; Aleppo; Opposition Divided; al-Qaida

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, August 1st, 2012

Will Syria Remain Fragmented for Years?

Posted by Joshua on Monday, July 30th, 2012

Kurds; SNC Criticized; Tlas; Aleppo

Posted by Joshua on Friday, July 27th, 2012

The Kurdish Flag Flies over Parts of Syria as Aleppo Ignites

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Four New Security Chiefs Named – all Hawks. Airplanes Used for First Time. Clinton Gives Assad “Time to Negotiate”

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Aleppo Fighting Spreads; Iraq Arms Kurds

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, July 22nd, 2012

Five Reasons Why There Will Not Be an Alawite State

Posted by Joshua on Saturday, July 21st, 2012

The Damage to Assad’s Security; Death Rate Soars; Fighting in Damascus; Border Crossings Taken

Posted by Joshua on Friday, July 20th, 2012

Tremseh: Lopsided Battle with Rebels; Rebel Commanders Angry; Fares Says Assad Ordered Al-Qaida Bombings;

Posted by Joshua on Saturday, July 14th, 2012

Tremseh: A Massacre or a Fight? Annan’s New Plan: For and Against

Posted by Joshua on Friday, July 13th, 2012

The US Sees Russia as the Weak Link in Support for Assad – But is it?

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

Wikileaks, Assad and Syria Comment – The Dispute about Tlas – Assad Interview

Posted by Joshua on Monday, July 9th, 2012

News Round Up (July 8, 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, July 8th, 2012

Manaf Tlas Defection Confirmed: His Statement from Paris

Posted by Joshua on Friday, July 6th, 2012

Regime’s Top Sunni Defects – General Manaf Mustafa Tlass Flees to Turkey

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, July 5th, 2012

News Round Up (3 July 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

News Round Up (2 July 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Monday, July 2nd, 2012

What Came out of the UN Conference on Syria?

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, July 1st, 2012

Has Russia Flipped? Clinton Says “Yes”

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, June 28th, 2012

“We are in a State of Real War,” Assad Says; Republican Guard Attacked in Damascus

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, June 27th, 2012

The Weapons Supply – Who is Deciding Who Gets What?

Posted by Joshua on Monday, June 25th, 2012

Rebels Massacre 25 “Shabiha;” An Assad Taken; High Level Military to Defect; Turkish Fighter Shot Down

Posted by Joshua on Friday, June 22nd, 2012

Will the Syria Opposition Unify? Does it Need to?

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, June 21st, 2012

UN in Catch 22 in Syria

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, June 20th, 2012

Ajami’s Syria Rebellion; Homs Bombed

Posted by Joshua on Monday, June 18th, 2012

UN Suspends Mission as Syria Becomes Regional Proxy War

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, June 17th, 2012

SNC Gets New Leader; Insurgency Grows; Foreign Jihadists Flock to Syria; Some Claim Houla Dead are Alawis

Posted by Joshua on Monday, June 11th, 2012

The Shabiha State Causes Horror – the Unraveling is sure to Speed Up.

Posted by Joshua on Saturday, June 9th, 2012

“Stay Out of Syria,” by Joshua Landis in Foreign Policy

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, June 7th, 2012

Military Casualties Rise; President Spreech; Houla

Posted by Joshua on Monday, June 4th, 2012

Stay Out of Syria

Posted by Joshua on Saturday, June 2nd, 2012

The West Worries about Civil War in Syria and Blames Russia

Posted by Joshua on Friday, June 1st, 2012

News on Houla Massacre

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, May 30th, 2012

Syrians Must Be Encouraged And Not Discouraged to Talk About Sectarianism – By Ehsani

Posted by Ehsani on Monday, May 28th, 2012

Sanctions Stop Food Getting to Syria but Not Arms

Posted by Joshua on Saturday, May 26th, 2012

Ghalioun Resigns; Can the SNC Recapture Center Stage; Is Shawkat Dead? No Cooking Gas

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012

Activists Worry that Sanctions May Undermine Chances for Future Democracy

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012

The SNC – Conversation between Kodmani, Labwani, & Landis

Posted by Joshua on Monday, May 21st, 2012

Opposition Says it has Killed Top Six Regime Figures, But Claim is Doubtful

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, May 20th, 2012

Election Results of the May 7, 2012 Syrian Elections

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, May 20th, 2012

The SNC in Trouble as Ghalioun Offers to Resign

Posted by Joshua on Friday, May 18th, 2012

Syrian Rebels Become More Lethal

Posted by Joshua on Monday, May 14th, 2012

“The Hamas-Syrian Split, a Dilemma for Iran’s Palestinian Strategy,” By Mohammad Ataie

Posted by Joshua on Saturday, May 12th, 2012

Main Pillars of the Syrian Regime Collapsing

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, May 10th, 2012

Week’s Round Up (4 May 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Friday, May 4th, 2012

From the Comment Section (26 April 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, April 26th, 2012

Syria’s Opposition Develops into a Real Insurgency as Assad Uses More Force. Obama Refuses to Jump In

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, April 24th, 2012

The US Looks for a More Muscular Response to Syria; Damascus Sells Gold in a Sign of Poverty

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

Truce Shaky but neither Arab League nor West have Better Idea as Opposition Militias Fight Among Themselves

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

The Cease-fire Shakes; “Syria’s Phase of Radicalisation” by Harling

Posted by Joshua on Monday, April 16th, 2012

‘Don’t Drag our Revolution through the Mud!” Farouk Brigade Commander Denies Claims of the self-proclaimed “Executioner of Homs”

Posted by Joshua on Saturday, April 14th, 2012

“Mohammad’s American Dream in the Sea of Protest,” Documentary

Posted by Joshua on Saturday, April 14th, 2012

Syria Accepts the Annan Plan if the Opposition Remains Quiet and UN Observers Follow Strict Rules

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

“Making the Maliki State in Iraq and the Reemergence of Izzat Ibrahim ad-Duri” By LTC Joel Rayburn

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

Will Turkey Invade Syria? Can the West Find a New Calculus for Intervention?

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

Ceasefire Efforts Unlikely to Work; Government Pursues Rebels; Muslim Brotherhood’s New Convenant

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, April 8th, 2012

“The hunt for ‘plan B’, by Labott; Syria Needs a George Washington; Syria could become like North Korea; “The Burial Brigade of Homs,” by Putz

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, April 1st, 2012

Former Secretary James Baker Commenting On Syria – The Charlie Rose Show

Posted by Ehsani on Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

The Annan Peace Proposal

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

The Muslim Brotherhood Issues a New Covenant that Gives Hope

Posted by Joshua on Monday, March 26th, 2012

Assad’s Emails Reveal that Syria Has Extremely Weak Government Institutions

Posted by Joshua on Monday, March 26th, 2012

“In Defense of Asma al-Assad,” by an Anonymous Syrian

Posted by Joshua on Monday, March 26th, 2012

News Round UP (23 March 2012)

Posted by Joshua on Friday, March 23rd, 2012

Upheaval within the Opposition: Defections, Terrorism, and Preparing for a Phase II Insurgency

Posted by Joshua on Monday, March 19th, 2012

“Exclusive: Secret Assad Emails Lift Lid on Life of Leader’s Inner Circle,” in Guardian

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, March 14th, 2012

Defection Rumors Rife; Annan Diplomacy Founders

Posted by Joshua on Monday, March 12th, 2012

Syrian Pound at 90 per Dollar as Government Intervenes

Posted by Joshua on Friday, March 9th, 2012

Sunni Deputy Minister Defects; Panetta Pushes back against US Involvement

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, March 8th, 2012

“Syria’s Currency Plunges, Raising Fears of Economic Chaos and Poverty,” by Joshua Landis

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

Is Aleppo Slipping out of Government Control?

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

“Inside Syria – Can Syria’s Opposition Unite?” al-Jazeera English

Posted by Joshua on Monday, March 5th, 2012

Formation of SNC Military Council Causes Uproar among Fighters in Syria and Turkey

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, March 1st, 2012

Syrian National Council to Create Military Bureau

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

“Free Syrian Army lacks organization in fight against Bashar Assad” by Landis and Reuters Video

Posted by Joshua on Monday, February 27th, 2012

Referendum and Friends of Syria Meeting Resolve Little

Posted by Joshua on Monday, February 27th, 2012

Friends of Syria Meeting in Tunis Accused of “inactivity”

Posted by Joshua on Friday, February 24th, 2012

“The Syrian Uprising of 2011: Why the Asad Regime is Likely To Survive to 2013,” by Joshua Landis in MEP

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

In Mezzeh, Wealthy Sunnis Begin to Demonstrate; Washington Unlikely to Arm Syrians Soon; Friends of Syria to Meetin in Tunis

Posted by Joshua on Monday, February 20th, 2012

“The Implosion,” by Jon Lee Anderson in The New Yorker

Posted by Joshua on Monday, February 20th, 2012

“The Declining Number of Christians in Aleppo, Syria,” by Ehsani

Posted by Ehsani on Saturday, February 18th, 2012

UN Vote on Syria; Homs Killings Rise; CNN Shows Alawi Neighborhoods Shelled too

Posted by Joshua on Friday, February 17th, 2012

Anthony Shadid Dies in Syria

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, February 16th, 2012

Syria’s Next Leader: Will He Come from the SNC or the Militias?

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, February 16th, 2012

The New Syrian Constitution Draft Discussed

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

Al-Qaida Targets Syria; Military Uses Hostages; World Fumbles for Syria Policy

Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

“The Real Opposition in Syria is Not the Syrian National Council or Free Syrian Army,” by Idaf

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, February 12th, 2012

Ehsani: What About The Regime?

Posted by Ehsani on Saturday, February 11th, 2012

“Syria’s Opposition Must Find a Different Way,” By Ehsani

Posted by Ehsani on Friday, February 10th, 2012

“Why Homs is the Center of the Revolt” by Joshua Landis

Posted by Joshua on Friday, February 10th, 2012

Rockets Fall on Homs as West and Turkey Weigh Support for Opposition

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

Landis and Heydemann on PBS News Hour Discuss Diplomatic and Military Options

Posted by Joshua on Monday, February 6th, 2012

The UN Veto Turns all Eyes to the Military Effort of the Opposition

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, February 5th, 2012

UN Security Council Meets; SNC Divisions; Sectarian Attacks and Kidnapping in Homs

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

Where In The Tunnel Are We? – By Ehsani

Posted by Ehsani on Monday, January 30th, 2012

“Syria’s Assad regime is doomed, but the battle will be long and bloody,” by Joshua Landis

Posted by Joshua on Thursday, January 26th, 2012

Analyzing the largest Syria crisis Facebook polls, by Camille Otrakji

Posted by Alex on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

Syria Rejects Arab League Request that Assad Step Aside

Posted by Joshua on Monday, January 23rd, 2012

Zabadani Ceasefire Collapses, as fighting spreads

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

Haplogroup U – Are We More United And Similar Than We Think? – By EHSANI

Posted by Ehsani on Monday, January 9th, 2012

“When is the Financial Crisis Coming?” by Ehsani

Posted by Joshua on Sunday, January 8th, 2012

Opposition Fails to Unify; More Calls for Intervention; The Arab League; First Political Defections

Posted by Joshua on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012