{"id":8841,"date":"2011-03-29T00:27:09","date_gmt":"2011-03-29T04:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?page_id=8841"},"modified":"2020-01-09T13:12:33","modified_gmt":"2020-01-09T18:12:33","slug":"landis-news-2008","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2008\/","title":{"rendered":"Landis in the News 2008"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"news_archive_list\">\n<li>Browse Archive By Year<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/\">Current<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2019\/\">2019<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2018\/\">2018<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2017\/\">2017<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2016\/\">2016<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2015\/\">2015<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2014\/\">2014<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2013\/\">2013<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2012\/\">2012<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2011\/\">2011<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2010\/\">2010<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2009\/\">2009<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"active\" href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2008\/\">2008<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2007\/\">2007<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2006\/\">2006<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2005\/\">2005<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2004\/\">2004<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>21 December 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.publico.pt\/Sociedade\/asma-alassad-a-mulher-que-destronou-carla-bruni-e-michelle-obama_1353959\">Asma al-Assad: The woman who dethroned Carla Bruni and Michelle Obama<\/a><br \/>\nBy Margarida Santos Lopes, <em>P\u00fablico<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Authoritarian regimes have to modernize to survive, and beautiful, cultured and secular Asthma is a vehicle to neutralize criticism, especially from the outside,&#8221; said the public by telephone, Joshua Landis, co-director of the Center for Middle East Studies, University of Oklahoma and author of the influential blog Syria Comment (https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/). Bashar al-Assad knows the value of media that his wife has. &#8220;There are thousands of applications for U.S. television networks to interview. The types of the CBS program 60 Minutes are always calling. Even Oprah Winfrey has made it known that I would like to see on your show. &#8220;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/ultimahora.publico.clix.pt\/noticia.aspx?id=1353959&amp;idCanal=62\">Asma al-Assad: A mulher que destronou Carla Bruni e Michelle Obama&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n<p>P\u00fablico.pt &#8211; Lisboa, Portugal<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cOs regimes autorit\u00e1rios t\u00eam de se modernizar para sobreviver, e a bonita, culta e secular Asma \u00e9 um ve\u00edculo para neutralizar cr\u00edticas, sobretudo as externas\u201d, afirmou \u00e0 P\u00fablica, por telefone, Joshua Landis, co-director do Center for Middle East Studies da Universidade de Oklahoma e autor do influente blogue Syria Comment (<a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/\">https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/<\/a>)&#8230;.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/translate.google.com\/translate?js=n&amp;prev=_t&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;layout=2&amp;eotf=1&amp;sl=auto&amp;tl=en&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.publico.pt%2FSociedade%2Fasma-alassad-a-mulher-que-destronou-carla-bruni-e-michelle-obama_1353959&amp;act=url\">View translation<\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>20 November 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theaustralian.com.au\/news\/britain-revives-its-links-to-syria\/story-e6frg6tx-1111118084844\">Britain revives its links to Syria <\/a><br \/>\nBy <em>The Australian<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>A US expert on Syria, Joshua Landis, said the Miliband visit was &#8220;a message from the British to Obama&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Like the French, they want the US to push Syrian-Israeli peace,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Negotiations between Syria and Israel began last May, but the Bush administration was unhappy about the dialogue and refused to support them.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>19 November 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/latimesblogs.latimes.com\/babylonbeyond\/2008\/11\/syria-report-on.html\">SYRIA: Report says Britain hammers out Damascus intelligence agreement<\/a><br \/>\nBy Raed Rafei, <em>Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>One blogger, Joshua Landis, an American expert on Syria, wrote that the U.S. refused a similar Syrian offer to combine efforts on intelligence matters when Syrian foreign minister Walid Muallem met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last year.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>2 November 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"&quot;http:\/\/www.thestar.com\/News\/Ideas\/article\/528935\">Syria and &#8216;The Law of the Jungle&#8217;<\/a><br \/>\nBy Olivia Ward, <em>thestar.com<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;When America attacked Iraq, the Syrians were very displeased,&#8221; says Joshua Landis, an authority on Syria.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They started supporting the opposition. But they were relieved to see that the opposition was quite healthy inside Iraq, and that America would be bogged down there. That allowed them to move back toward America, and they tried to resume intelligence-sharing.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>31 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/blog.foreignpolicy.com\/posts\/2008\/10\/31\/the_road_to_damascus\">The Road to Damascus<\/a><br \/>\nBy David Kenner, <em>Foreign Policy<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>This is less of a scoop than ABC would have its readers believe. Joshua Landis, an assistant professor of Middle Eastern studies at the University of Oklahoma who is sympathetic to the Syrian regime, reported back in August that General Petraeus tried to visit Syria in December 2007. However, there are signs that Petraeus remains skeptical about Syria&#8217;s stated desire for cooperation. Landis reported that &#8220;there are real issues at the border,&#8221; and that Petraeus&#8217;s interest in going to Syria stemmed in part from a desire &#8220;to read Syria the riot act about compliance [on border security].&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>31 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.salon.com\/news\/opinion\/glenn_greenwald\/2008\/10\/31\/abc_news\">Someone should tell ABC News what &#8220;exclusive&#8221; means<\/a><br \/>\nBy Glenn Greenwald, <em>Salon<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>On October 26 &#8212; 5 days ago &#8212; Joshua Landis wrote on his blog, Syria Comment, about the U.S. bombing raid inside Syria, and said this (h\/t Andrew Sullivan):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The Bush administration seems to be ratcheting up action against Syria during its last days in power. . . In late 2007 then-Coalition commander General David Petraeus praised Syria\u2019s cooperation in reducing violence in Iraq . . . . Petraeus sought to go to Damascus in December 2007 to restart intelligence sharing, but was forbidden from doing so by the White House.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>30 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2008\/10\/30\/following_deadly_us_attack_on_syria\">Following Deadly US Attack on Syria, Questions of Bush Admin Motives in its Waning Months<\/a><br \/>\nJoshua Landis and Robert Dreyfuss, <em>Democracy Now<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><b>AMY GOODMAN:<\/b> We\u2019re joined now by two guests. Joshua Landis teaches Middle East history at University of Oklahoma and writes a daily newsletter on Syrian politics called &#8220;Syria Comment.&#8221; He joins us from Norman, Oklahoma. And we\u2019re joined from Washington, D.C. by investigative reporter and contributing editor at The Nation magazine, Robert Dreyfuss, author of Devil\u2019s Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam. His latest piece is called &#8220;The End of International Law.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>30 October 2008<\/b><\/p>\n<p>By Mark MacKinnon, <em>Globe and Mail<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cSyria has its hands tied behind its back. It can\u2019t allow its anger to rule this moment,\u201d said Joshua Landis, co-director of the Centre for Peace Studies at the University of Oklahoma and editor of the syriacomment.com website. \u201cIn the past, clearly, the [U.S.] military in Iraq would have been very anxious about what Syria could do in retaliation.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>29 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.normantranscript.com\/localnews\/local_story_303012338\">How will they handle the world?<\/a><br \/>\nBy Julianna Parker, <em>The Norman Transcript<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Joshua Landis, an expert on the Middle East and Syria specifically, said the two candidates&#8217; foreign policies diverge greatly in the area of the Middle East. McCain wants to win the war in Iraq, as long as it takes. Obama wants to pull the troops out of Iraq as soon as possible and put them in Afghanistan.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>29 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/socialistworker.org\/2008\/10\/29\/us-raid-in-syria\">Behind the U.S. raid in Syria<\/a><br \/>\nBy Nicole Colson, <em>Socialistworker.org<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>But why did the U.S. choose this moment to strike inside Syria? As Joshua Landis, co-director of the Center for Middle East Studies, pointed out in a statement, &#8220;Syria has been improving border compliance steadily. General [David] Petraeus announced this month that Syria has brought down infiltration from 100 to 20 a month.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>29 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jpost.com\/servlet\/Satellite?cid=1225199590545&amp;pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull\">Syria Monitoring US, Israeli Elections<\/a><br \/>\nBy Brenda Gazzar, <em>Jerusalem Post<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Joshua Landis, co-director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oklahoma. &#8220;They believe he will get out of Iraq sooner and give &#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>28 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theworld.org\/?q=node\/22064\">Syria orders American school closed<\/a><br \/>\nBy Katy Clark and Matthew Bell, <em>The World<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Joshua Landis is with the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma: &#8220;I don&#8217;t know what the protocol is, but I assume that once there&#8217;s a new president elect, it would polite&#8211;at least&#8211;for President Bush to consult with him before launching into something like this.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>27 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/baltimorechronicle.com\/2008\/102708Floyd.shtml&quot;\">Surging Into Syria: American Incursion Opens New Front in Quagmire<\/a><br \/>\nBy Christ Floyd, <em>Baltimore Chronicle<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Of course, petty murderous spite can never be overlooked in anything the Bushists do. From the Guardian:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Joshua Landis, an American expert on Syria, commented last night: &#8220;The Bush administration must assume that an Obama victory will force Syria to behave nicely in order to win favour with the new administration. Thus White House analysts may assume that it can have a &#8220;freebee&#8221; &#8211; taking a bit of personal revenge on Syria without the US paying a price.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>28 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.countercurrents.org\/oconnor281008.htm\">US MIlitary Forces Attack Syrian Village, Killing Eight<\/a><br \/>\nBy Patrick O&#8217;Connor, <em>countercurrents.org<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>According to Syria expert and University of Oklahoma Professor Joshua Landis: &#8220;Both the State Department and DOD [Department of Defense] have consistently pushed for intelligence sharing with Damascus only to be shot down by the vice president&#8217;s office.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>28 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.menassat.com\/?q=en\/news-articles\/5002-us-attack-syria\">US attack on Syria has many baffled<\/a><br \/>\nBy <em>Menassat<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Josh Landis, co-director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, wrote on his blog Syria Comment that &#8220;with the raid, the Bush administration may have been giving Syria a parting shot for its unwillingness to comply with intelligence-sharing and other US demands.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>29 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.atimes.com\/atimes\/Middle_East\/JJ29Ak02.html\">The strike that shattered US-Syria ties<\/a><br \/>\nBy Sami Moubayed, <em>Asia Times Online<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>If the Americans thought it was a base for al-Qaeda, they clearly were mistaken. Syria specialist Joshua Landis wrote that the attack &#8220;was probably constructed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and not [Vice President Dick] Cheney&#8217;s office. Evidently, there are real issues at the border and [supreme US commander for Iraq and Afghanistan General David] Petraeus has been warning the Syrians that they must do more. Satellite intelligence probably picked up smugglers, which were interpreted to be al-Qaeda. Quite possibly these poor people killed in the raid were a family of smugglers.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>26 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/latimesblogs.latimes.com\/babylonbeyond\/2008\/10\/syria-whats-beh.html\">SYRIA: WHat&#8217;s behind U.S. raid?<\/a><br \/>\nBy <em>Babylon &amp; Beyond<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Joshua Landis at Syria Comment says the attack &#8220;seems to fit into a broader pattern of the Bush administration initiating cross border attacks into countries that it is not officially at war with,&#8221; including Pakistan.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>27 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/world\/2008\/oct\/27\/syria-helicopter-attack\">US forces kill eight in helicopter raid on Syria<\/a><br \/>\nBy Ian Black and Ewen MacAskill, <em>guardian.co.uk<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Joshua Landis, an American expert on Syria, commented last night: &#8220;The Bush administration must assume that an Obama victory will force Syria to behave nicely in order to win favour with the new administration. Thus White House analysts may assume that it can have a &#8220;freebee&#8221; &#8211; taking a bit of personal revenge on Syria without the US paying a price.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>26 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com\/the_daily_dish\/2008\/10\/what-just-happe.html\">Did We Just Strike Syria?<\/a><br \/>\nBy <em>the Atlantic<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Joshua Landis at Syria Comment on the US allegedly launching a helicopter attack inside the country from Iraq:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>[Syria] has refused to restart intelligence sharing with the US, which was broken off following the deterioration of relations in 2005. Petraeus sought to go to Damascus in December 2007 to restart intelligence sharing, but was forbidden from doing so by the White House.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>22 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/hasen\/spages\/1030438.html\">Syria envoy: Future generations will pay if Israel scuttles peace talks<\/a><br \/>\nBy <em>Haaretx<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8230;..&#8221;If the Israelis are merely interested in the &#8216;process&#8217; and not the &#8216;peace&#8217;, they will ultimately be held accountable&#8230; Future Israeli and Arab generations will pay a dear price for this shortsightedness and obstinacy,&#8221; Ambassador Imad Moustapha said in an interview with the Syria Comment Web site&#8230;.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>3 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/news.scotsman.com\/politics\/Danger-lies-in-ties-with.4555207.jp\">Danger lies in ties with Kurdish opposition<\/a><br \/>\nBy Michael Howle, <em>The Scotsman<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>He claims Mr Yakob could be arrested for any ties he might have with Kurdish groups. Joshua Landis, the co-director of the Centre for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, said: &#8220;They will be watching him like a hawk.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>2 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jpost.com\/servlet\/Satellite?cid=1222017434086&amp;pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull\">Experts doubt Syria has resumed nuke activity<\/a><br \/>\nBy <em>Jerusalem Post<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u2026. \u201cIt\u2019s clearly time for a rethink of [Syria] policy, and I think Rice and others in the administration are trying to shepherd it forward,\u201d said Joshua Landis, a Syria specialist at the University of Oklahoma who publishes the widely read Syria Comment blog. \u201cRice is definitely open to it \u2013 and the whole Department of Defense has been kicking for this for a long time \u2013 but she can\u2019t get it past the White House.\u201d\u2026.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>2 October 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.atimes.com\/atimes\/Middle_East\/JJ02Ak03.html\">Syria&#8217;s unlikely shepherd<\/a><br \/>\nBy Jim Lobe, <em>Asia Times<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s clearly time for a rethink of [Syria] policy, and I think Rice and others in the administration are trying to shepherd it forward,&#8221; said Joshua Landis, a Syria specialist at the University of Oklahoma who publishes the widely read blog ww.syriacomment.com. &#8220;Rice is definitely open to it &#8211; and the whole Department of Defense has been kicking for this for a long time &#8211; but she can&#8217;t get it past the White House.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>29 September 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldtribune.com\/worldtribune\/WTARC\/2008\/me_syria0565_09_29.asp\">Syria&#8217;s intelligence community again hit by major car bomb<\/a><br \/>\nBy <em>World Tribune<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Two theories are developing on little evidence so far,&#8221; Josh Landis, a leading American analyst on Syria, said. &#8220;One is that the bombers were targeting a state security center. The other theory is that they were targeting Shi&#8217;ites. So far we don&#8217;t know what the truth is.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>13 September 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ianmunroe.ca.\/\">Going for Broke<\/a><br \/>\nBy Ian Munroe, <em>Trends Magazine<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8230;.\u201cThere are two trends. One\u2019s a slow liberalization of the economy,\u201d says Joshua Landis, co-director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma and the creator of Syria Comment, a popular website that covers current events there. \u201cNumber two is a Western attempt to isolate Syria, and to strangle it economically&#8230;\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>27 September 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/news\/international\/Car_bomb_near_Syrian_security_base_kills_17.html?siteSect=143&amp;sid=9779224&amp;cKey=1222530766000&amp;ty=ti\">Car bomb near Syrian security base kills 17<\/a><br \/>\nBy Marwan Mekdessi, <em>Reuters<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;The attack is very disturbing. It&#8217;s scary because it reminds every Syrian of the late 1970s and early 1980s when the radical wing of the Muslim Brotherhood was blowing everyone up,&#8221; said Joshua Landis, a Syria expert at Oklahoma University&#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>1 September 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.gulfnews.com\/opinion\/columns\/region\/10241844.html\">US may join the peace talks in Turkey<\/a><br \/>\nBy Sami Moubayed, <em>gulfnews.com<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8230; Everybody is worried about progress on the indirect Syrian-Israeli talks, currently underway in Turkey. According to Syria commentator, Joshua Landis, they have either reached a breakthrough, or a dead end. &#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>30 August 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a>Damascus emerges from isolation<\/a><br \/>\nBy James Gavin, <em>Middle East Economic Digest<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>After being abandoned by its Arab allies and economically isolated by US sanctions, President Bashar al-Assad&#8217;s regime has made a remarkable comeback in recent months&#8230;. &#8220;On one side, Israel is seeing what it can do to isolate Iran, and to find out to what extent Syria will move against Hezbollah,&#8221; says Joshua Landis&#8230;.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>28 August 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.forward.com\/articles\/14109\/\">Former Aipac Head Leads Push for American-Syrian Rapprochement<\/a><br \/>\nBy Marc Perelman, <em>The Jewish Daily Forward<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Joshua Landis, a Syria expert at the University of Oklahoma, offers another explanation: \u201cSyria wanted to use Dine to open up doors in Washington, and he was supposed to get a meeting between Daoudi and Welch but could not deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To Landis, the administration\u2019s backtracking on the Welch meeting suggests that \u201cWashington is not ready to become a part of the discussion, which means that the Israel-Syria talks will not be able to reach a decisive phase.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>27 August 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/ap.google.com\/article\/ALeqM5hKKkCTpzT-Pg4MSAoVHrf8aMT8egD92Q3RPO0\">Syria, Iran warm to Russia as US tensions grow<\/a><br \/>\nBy Sam Ghattas, <em>The Associated Press<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;The Russian move into Georgia has begun a tectonic shift in the (Mideast) region,&#8221; said Joshua Landis, a Syria expert in the United States. &#8220;It has emboldened Syria, Hezbollah and Iran to push harder against Israel and the U.S.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>25 August 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.upi.com\/Emerging_Threats\/2008\/08\/25\/Analysis_Shifting_Middle_East_alliances\/UPI-20901219681613\/\">Analysis: Shifting Middle East alliances<\/a><br \/>\nBy Claude Salhani, <em>United Press International<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Russia&#8217;s aggressive response in Georgia has unleashed what Joshua Landis, co-director of the Center for Middle East Studies and a specialist on Syrian &#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>24 August 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/hasen\/spages\/1014497.html\">Russian embrace of Syria tightens, but for what purpose?<\/a><br \/>\nBy Yoav Stern, <em>Ha&#8217;aretz<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Syria expert Joshua Landis wrote in his blog Syriacomment.com that &#8220;Syria&#8217;s bad negotiating position is leading it to look for more weapons and to try to grow more teeth before returning to the table with Israel,&#8221; adding, &#8220;Both Assad and Hezbollah are hoping to get new weapons systems from Russia and greater diplomatic backing.&#8221; But despite the preoccupation with weapons, he asserts that all eyes are on the peace process.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>20 August 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.isn.ethz.ch\/news\/sw\/details.cfm?id=19281\">Assessing stability in Syria<\/a><br \/>\nBy Ben Judah, <em>ISN<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Syrian political expert Joshua Landis of the University of Oklahoma argues that most western understandings of Syria are still very caricatured. &#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>12 August 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/rightweb.irc-online.org\/rw\/4943.html\">Middle East expert Joshua Landis sees U.S. policy in the region at a \u201ccrossroads.\u201d<\/a><br \/>\nBy Daniel Luban, <em>Right Web<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Landis \u2026 describes the Syrian regime as making an unprecedented push to normalize relations with the West. But neoconservative hardliners in Washington continue to resist any engagement with Syria, presenting the possibility that this window of opportunity will be lost\u2026..<\/p>\n<p>Syria is engaging in a major charm offensive. And significantly, they\u2019ve been courting people like [former American Israel Public Affairs Committee president] Thomas Dine to help set up meetings in Washington. This is new! For Syria to reach out to the Israelis not just through the negotiations in Ankara but through the Jewish community in the United States is a potential game-changer in many ways&#8230;.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>4 August 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jpost.com\/servlet\/Satellite?cid=1215331192115&amp;pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull\">&#8216;Murdered Syrian officer knew too much&#8217;<\/a><br \/>\nBy <em>Jerusalem Post<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>But Syrian expert Joshua Landis, the co-director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oklahoma, said he doubts the veracity of many &#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>31 July 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/hasen\/spages\/1007460.html\">The Syrian bride<\/a><br \/>\nBy <em>Ha&#8217;aretz<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Joshua Landis, editor of the daily news roundup SyriaComment.com, which is read by many Syrian expatriates in the United States, says that Asma Assad is the &#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>15 July 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/exchange.ou.edu\/owa\/redir.aspx?C=5b3c66d499c749f7a1f148b89a25922b&amp;URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.gulfnews.com%2fregion%2fMiddle_East%2f10228894.html\" target=\"_blank\">Syrians applaud Bashar&#8217;s Paris trip<\/a><br \/>\nBy Sami Moubayed, <em>GulfNews<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Joshua Landis, an expert on Syrian affairs who runs the much-read blog in Washington DC, Syriacomment, told Gulf News: &#8220;President Assad&#8217;s Lebanon policy has been vindicated. Three years ago, Chirac said Assad didn&#8217;t understand the &#8216;new Middle East.&#8217; Today, Sarkozy is stating, in effect, that Chirac was wrong.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>25 June 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/exchange.ou.edu\/owa\/redir.aspx?C=8bb9918754754136bf8ff6d3a3c3bc13&amp;URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.csmonitor.com%2f2008%2f0625%2fp04s01-wome.html\" target=\"_blank\">Can Syria avoid sanctions with a UN nuclear inspection?<\/a><br \/>\nBy Julien Barnes-Dacey, <em>Christian Science Monitor<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;What&#8217;s driving Syria right now is an anxiety about becoming a pariah,&#8221; says Joshua Landis, a Syria expert at the University of Oklahoma. &#8230;&#8221;Iran can afford to thumb their nose at the West because they have so much money coming in from oil that will help insulate them from sanctioning,&#8221; says Mr. Landis. &#8220;Syria doesn&#8217;t have a cushion like that.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>20 June 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/newsOne\/idUSL2058403320080620\">Syrian leaders in upbeat mood despite IAEA visit<\/a><br \/>\nBy Alistair Lyon, <em>Reuters<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Syria, whose troops left Lebanon in 2005, was delighted by last month&#8217;s Qatari-brokered deal among rival Lebanese leaders which translated a military victory won by Hezbollah and other Syrian allies against U.S.-backed factions into political gains.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Syrians were thrilled to see them wiping away the facade of U.S. power,&#8221; said Joshua Landis, a Syria expert at Oklahoma University. &#8220;It was clearly very sobering for the Americans, who are trying to figure out where to go from here.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>19 June 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.forward.com\/articles\/13620\/\">Thaw Between Syria and Israel Puts Hezbollah on Front Burner<\/a><br \/>\nBy Nathan Guttman, <em>Forward<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cSyria is bending over backward right now to be accommodating to Israel and France by pushing Hamas to compromise and by pushing the Lebanese opposition to moderate their demands,\u201d said Joshua Landis, a Syria scholar at Oklahoma University. Syria and Israel are finding common ground on the issue of Hezbollah, Landis added, but while Israel would like Damascus to break altogether with the terrorist group, Syria believes it can encourage Hezbollah to focus on politics.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>13 June 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a>Independent Analysis and Political Risk<\/a><br \/>\nBy <em>Gulf States Newsletter<\/em><br \/>\nISSN 0953-5411 Volume 32 \u2022 Issue 831<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8230;. Respected Syria watcher Joshua Landis, author of the blog Syria Comment, had this to say:\u201cFor two years we have been hearing stories that the Assad family is at daggers drawn and ready to kill one another. Never were they true in the past \u2026 [But] we have not seen any sign of Asef Shawkat in months. Also, several people I trust tell me that Asef is no longer the head of military intelligence &#8211; at least that part of the story seems true.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>6 June 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.economist.com\/agenda\/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11520335\">Upbeat in Syria: Why President Bashar Assad is feeling cock-a-hoop<\/a><br \/>\nBy <em>The Economist<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8230;..Mr Assad said that when the Doha talks seemed to be on the brink of collapse, the ruler of Qatar called on Syria to provide some suggestions. \u201cThe ideas we provided were the exact same ideas we provided the French last year when they were mediating\u201d, Mr Assad said, according to a transcript provided on the Syria Comment blog. \u201cHowever, the French then did not comprehend or did not implement the ideas correctly.\u201d He attributed this failing on the part of the French government to the mistaken assumption that Syria could speak and act on behalf of its allies in Lebanon, whereas in fact Syria was merely interested in furnishing practical solutions&#8230;..<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>5 June 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.iwpr.net\/?p=syr&amp;s=f&amp;o=345030&amp;apc_state=henh\">Syria Defiant on Ties With Iran<\/a><br \/>\nBy <em>Institute for War and Peace Reporting<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Joshua Landis, co-director of the Centre for Middle East Studies at Oklahoma University, said the new agreement \u201cclearly complicates\u201d the peace process, but would not jeopardise the negotiations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only reason that Israel is talking to Syria today is because Syria is Iran\u2019s ally,\u201d he said. \u201cIsrael is talking peace because they\u2019re frightened of Syria, they\u2019re frightened of Hezbollah and they\u2019re frightened of Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Landis said that apart from a desire to curb ties between Damascus and Tehran, Israel was also interested in talking to the Syrians about securing its northern borders with Lebanon from attack by the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia. He also noted that Israel wants the Syrians to reduce their support for the Palestinian group Hamas.<\/p>\n<p>If Syria can deliver on some of these demands and make the Israelis feel more secure, Tel Aviv might be willing to back down on the issue of ties with Iran.<\/p>\n<p>Analysts note that the security pact is a continuation of the long-established Iranian-Syrian axis and therefore cannot have come as a surprise to either Israel or the US.<\/p>\n<p>The alliance took off in 1980, when Syria backed Iran against Iraq when those two countries embarked on their eight-year war.<\/p>\n<p>Landis predicted that Syria would maintain a strong relationship with Iran as it continued to be isolated internationally. \u201cAs long as everyone is trying to boycott Syria and isolate it, it\u2019s going to keep its friends,\u201d Landis said. \u201cAnd Iran is a friend.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>2 July 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SobF5tg0MmI#\">INN World Report<\/a><br \/>\nBy <em>International News Net<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SobF5tg0MmI\" width=\"480\" height=\"390\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/x-VsOgclPqQ\" width=\"480\" height=\"390\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><b>27 May 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.opendemocracy.net\/article\/terrorism-theme\/no-solution-but-war-in-somalia\">&#8220;No solution but war&#8221; in Somalia<\/a><br \/>\nBy Eric Randolph, <em>openSecurity<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It was announced on 21 May that Turkey is mediating talks between Syria and Israel on a comprehensive peace agreement. Middle east experts say that such an agreement is feasible, but will require major concessions on both sides that could take a long time to achieve. In an interview with the Council on Foreign Relations, Syria expert Joshua Landis said that the return of the Golan Heights in exchange for Syria&#8217;s ending of aid to Hizbollah and Hamas was in the ultimate interest of both sides, but would be a &#8220;bitter pill&#8221; to swallow. A more positive assessment from the International Analyst Network says the mere existence of talks was an important step, and that a deal makes &#8220;great economic sense&#8221; for the Syrians.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>22 May 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"&quot;http:\/\/www.cfr.org\/publication\/16328\/\">Can a Syrian-Israeli Peace Agreement Be Reached?<\/a><br \/>\nBy Bernard Gwertzman, <em>Council on Foreign Relations<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Joshua Landis, who writes the blog Syria Comment and is regarded as a leading Syria specialist, says a prospective Syria-Israel peace agreement is &#8220;very feasible&#8221; but is skeptical whether it can be achieved quickly. For there to be a deal, Landis says, Israel would have to return all of the Golan Heights, and Syria would have to rein in Hezbollah and stop aiding Hamas. Landis adds that it will be a &#8220;bitter pill&#8221; for Syria to stop supporting militant Palestinian groups.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>14 April 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.metimes.com\/Editorial\/2008\/04\/14\/something_happening_in_damascus\/7802\/\">Something happening in Damascus<\/a><br \/>\nBy <em>metimes.com<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Professor Joshua Landis&#8217; respected and usually well informed blog site, Syria Comment, has published the following, part of what he calls an &#8220;intelligence&#8230;.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>1 April 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/africa.reuters.com\/wire\/news\/usnOWE141038.html\">Syria risks more isolation over Lebanon<\/a><br \/>\nBy <em>Reuters<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Tough times are ahead for Syria,&#8221; Joshua Landis, a Syria specialist at the University of Oklahoma, told Reuters. &#8220;Syria thinks it can persevere another year and then it will be a new day. But the U.S. Treasury is laying landmines that Syria will find it difficult to negotiate,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p>Landis said Syria could find it tougher to play for time as Washington already expanded sanctions on Damascus and Arab states siding with Lebanon&#8217;s government showed no willingness to welcome Syria back to what they regard as the Arab mainstream.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>1 April 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/themoderatevoice.com\/places\/asia\/middle-east\/palestine\/18721\/news-from-the-israeli-and-palestinian-front-april-1st\/\">News From the Israeli and Palestinian Front<\/a><br \/>\nBy Jeb Koogler, <em>The Moderate Voice<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Joshua Landis, an expert on Syrian politics, writes that Israel is not serious about pursuing a peace agreement with Syria, despite the recent rumors&#8230;.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>28 March 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.csmonitor.com\/2008\/0328\/p04s02-wome.html\">Mideast rift upstages Arab League summit<\/a><br \/>\nBy Julian Barnes-Dacey, <em>The Christian Science Monitor<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Syria thinks that being stubborn will pay off and that the US effort in Lebanon will collapse,&#8221; says Joshua Landis, a Syrian expert at the University of Oklahoma.<\/p>\n<p>He compares the situation to the long Lebanese civil war in the 1980s. After the Americans and other regional players withdrew, Syria was the last country standing&#8230;.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>7 March 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"&quot;http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2008\/03\/07\/world\/africa\/07iht-syria.4.10815360.html\">Arab leaders threaten to boycott Damascus summit<\/a><br \/>\nBy Robert F. Worth, <em>The New York Times<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI think Syria has taken its position: they need to make sure that Lebanon cannot be used against them,\u201d said Prof. Joshua M. Landis, a Syria expert at the University of Oklahoma. Its strategy, he added, is based in large part on countering the enormous financial power of Saudi Arabia and its allies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is Syria\u2019s game: keep Lebanon paralyzed, and Saudi has to subsidize everything,\u201d Professor Landis said. \u201cThat\u2019s going to take billions of dollars, and where does it end? Syria thinks they can outlast them.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>26 February 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.forward.com\/articles\/12765\/\">US Takes Aim at Shadowy Syrian Businessman<\/a><br \/>\nBy Marc Perelman, <em>The Jewish Daily Forward<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThere will undoubtedly be many Syrians who take some satisfaction from this move, but many will also be anxious because the U.S. has penetrated a new level of sovereignty,\u201d said Joshua Landis, an expert on Syrian who teaches at the University of Oklahoma. \u201cThis is a big blow to Syria, and means an entirely new level of bad blood between the two countries,\u201d Landis said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>22 February 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2008\/02\/21\/AR2008022102839.html\">Sanctions on Businessman Target Syria&#8217;s Inner Sanctum<\/a><br \/>\nBy Robin Wright, <em>Washington Post<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Once you hit Rami Makhluf, you&#8217;re at war with Syria,&#8221; said Joshua M. Landis, a former Fulbright scholar in Syria who teaches at the University of Oklahoma. &#8220;When you sanction Rami Makhluf, you&#8217;re also sanctioning all the people who deal with him, including the wealthiest and most powerful people in the country.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A lot of people think of Makhluf as a highway robber, and in some ways he is. But he is also one of the few people who can work through the system to get things done,&#8221; said Landis, referring to Rami Makhluf. &#8220;All kinds of banks and people and foreign investors who want to join in Syria&#8217;s development are going to think twice and think &#8216;What&#8217;s going to happen to me?&#8217;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>13 February 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/apps\/news?pid=newsarchive&amp;sid=a5Jk5Qabmo9k&amp;refer=africa\">Hezbollah Commander, Wanted by U.S., Killed in Syria<\/a><br \/>\nBy Massoud A. Derhally, <em>Bloomberg<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;There seems to be a steady attempt to push Syria, and right now the United States and the West has very little leverage over Syria, and I think this is frustrating everybody in Washington as they see Syria asserting its authority in Lebanon,&#8221; said Josh Landis, a specialist on Syria and director of the Center for Peace Studies at the University of Oklahoma. &#8220;They&#8217;ve run out of tools and the only thing Bush can say now is that he&#8217;s going to get a fully funded investigation&#8221; into Hariri&#8217;s assassination.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>14 February 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.iht.com\/articles\/ap\/2008\/02\/14\/news\/Syria-Militant-Haven.php\">Killing of top Hezbollah operative may be costly for Syria<\/a><br \/>\nBy Hamza Hendawi, <em>International Herald Tribune<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Al-Qaida has not made a concerted effort to act in Syria, not because of the strength of its security services, but because of Damascus&#8217; anti-Western stance, according to Syria expert Joshua Landis.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not just because the police are good. Syria&#8217;s been given a pass by al-Qaida and others because of its anti-American position, but Americans and the West don&#8217;t want to admit that because they don&#8217;t want to admit that there&#8217;s a cause and effect,&#8221; said Landis, director of the Center for Peace Studies at the University of Oklahoma. He also maintains a widely read blog on Syria.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>22 February 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nowlebanon.com\/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=30130\">Your enemy\u2019s enemies: Lebanon and Syria still have common cause<\/a><br \/>\nBy Taylor Long, <em>Now Lebanon<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Progressive Socialist Party head Walid Jumblatt might be the one exception. The Druze leader has opened his home in the past to prominent leaders of the Syrian opposition like Bayanouni, and met with other opposition leaders in exile in Europe. Dr. Joshua Landis, a Syrian specialist at the University of Oklahoma and the publisher of \u201cSyria Comment,\u201d agreed that Jumblatt has served in recent years as \u201cthe spearhead of the Syrian-Lebanese opposition nexus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Landis\u2019s logic is that March 14 had been strategic about its detachment. \u201cThe Syrian opposition is extremely weak and vulnerable,\u201d he pointed out. \u201cAnyone responsible knows that to freight opposition figures with too much responsibility is to send them to prison.\u201d The US has reportedly tried to mobilize the Syrian opposition through the International Republican Institute (IRI), much as it did in 2004 and 2005 during Ukraine\u2019s Orange Revolution. Those who met with IRI representatives, however, were subsequently interrogated by the Syrian authorities, and several were expelled from the country. March 14 leaders like Saad Hariri, it seems, did not want to make the same mistake. \u201cIf Hariri reaches out to Syrian opposition people, they will be arrested and imprisoned,\u201d said Landis. \u201cMany Syrians would blame Hariri and not their own government for their arrest. Perhaps only Jumblatt is willing to go down this road. He has nothing to lose with Syria.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>5 February 2008<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/templates\/story\/story.php?storyId=18699384\">Once-Socialist Damascus Displays New Wealth, Glitz<\/a><br \/>\nBy Deborah Amos, <em>NPR<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>That&#8217;s the result of a country rapidly transforming a 40-year history of economic control from the top. Josh Landis, an American academic who specializes in Syria, says China is Syria&#8217;s model: Keep a tight lid on political opposition, open the economy and try to manage the growing income gap.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<ul class=\"news_archive_list\">\n<li>Browse Archive By Year<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/\">Current<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2018\/\">2018<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2017\/\">2017<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2016\/\">2016<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2015\/\">2015<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2014\/\">2014<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2013\/\">2013<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2012\/\">2012<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2011\/\">2011<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2010\/\">2010<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2009\/\">2009<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"active\" href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2008\/\">2008<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2007\/\">2007<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2006\/\">2006<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2005\/\">2005<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/landis-news\/landis-news-2004\/\">2004<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Browse Archive By Year Current 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 21 December 2008 Asma al-Assad: The woman who dethroned Carla Bruni and Michelle Obama By Margarida Santos Lopes, P\u00fablico &#8220;Authoritarian regimes have to modernize to survive, and beautiful, cultured and secular Asthma is a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":21998,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8841","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.8.1 - 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