The Middle-East Observer
Bashar al-Assad
Analysis: Syria faces neo-mujahideen struggle
The Assad government will have to face a full scale insurgency – foreign sponsored – , a “neo-mujahideen” struggle that looms over Syria according to Victor Kotsev. He argues that countries with the greatest stakes in Syria, namely: Turkey, United States and Russia and of course Syria itself are all using the failed ceasefire and … Continue reading
Syrian defector: Assad using chemical weapons
Syrian national forces have used nerve gas as a part of the suppression of the Homs revolt. The use and stockpiling of nerve gas is banned by the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention and nerve gas is considered a WMD by the United Nations. The illegal use of nerve gas by the Syrian army to put … Continue reading
Syria ‘relaunches’ assault on Homs
After the reports that gunmen had assassinated a high-ranking military officer in the Syrian capital of Damascus, Syrian forces are said to have launched new tank and rocket attacks on the city of Homs.This latest assault on the besieged city has resulted in the dead of at least seven people, while some reports give numbers … Continue reading
Analysis: Is Syria the next Iraq?
Ron Ben Yishai writes about the possibility that the Syrian uprising will result in the country’s breaking up in ethnic, autonomic, hostile regions that are barely connected. One of the signs of disintegration is that some chiefs of important Alawite tribes, once loyal to Bashar Al Assad, have started to declare that they are no … Continue reading
Syria uprising is now a battle to the death
Martin Chulov of The Guardian reports from a small town near the city of Homs in Syria. He describes the rockets that fall down on the city, and the seemingly impossibility to flee the city or its surroundings. At a makeshift medical center at the heart of the town, dead and severely wounded man are … Continue reading
Opinion: Assad takes a page out of Russia’s book in his war against rebels
The drastic and recent change in the brutality of the siege of Homs, the center of the Syrian uprising, suggests that the arrival of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavarov is encouraging Assad to follow a similar strategy to that used by Russia in Chechnya. The electricity and phone lines have been cut and food is … Continue reading
Analysis: Israeli leaders’ silence on Assad’s crackdown reflects fears of uncertain future
While the international community has been busy handing out condemnations to Syria, Israel has remained distant and ambiguous in its remarks concerning the Assad regime’s crackdown. According to Eyal Zisser, an Israeli historian at Tel Aviv University, the uprising worries Israelis, especially the upholding of the status quo of peaceful enmity and the proliferation of … Continue reading
Report: Top Iran military official aiding Assad’s crackdown on Syria opposition
The Assad regime of Syria is stepping up its campaign to stamp out resistance militarily and is now being assisted by the Elite Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The Quds leadership presence as well as the recent increase of violent attacks by the Assad regime, in which mortars and rockets are being used … Continue reading
Israel’s Vice PM: Fall of Assad could weaken Mideast ‘axis of evil’
Israeli Vice Prime Minister and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon said on Sunday that Israel has not been, and will not be interfering in the current Syrian crisis. He furthermore said that he did not expect a Muslim Brotherhood regime to take over in Syria, but that it would rather be a relatively moderate Sunni … Continue reading
Analysis: Is the Syrian revolt turning into insurgency?
Analysts say Syria is heading towards a civil war despite the fact that, at first, the opposition was preaching peaceful demonstration. With the Free Syrian Army (FSA), guerrilla style attacks on the Syrian military positions have been on the rise. The FSA has realized it must force the changes in Syria because of Russia’s opposition to any … Continue reading
Opinion: How to get Russia on board in Syria? Hint: Think of the sea
Russia is a major obstacle between the Syrian demonstrators and their liberation from the Assad regime. Russia has been the main opponent of UN Security Council resolutions against the regime while even the “timid” Arab League wants Assad to go. The reason for Russia’s opposition is quite simple: it fears that if the Assad regime … Continue reading
Syrians cope with profound economic crisis as regime tries to crush revolt
As the Assad regime continues to violently repress the 10-month old uprising, it is struggling to contain the damage done to the Syrian economy. In line with the government’s public statements throughout, the regime is blaming terrorists and foreign conspiracies for the severe economic woes. The economic devastation has penetrated the lives of multiple segments … Continue reading
Syria denounces Arab League for telling Assad to quit
Syria on Monday rebuffed an Arab League call for President Bashar al-Assad to step down in favor of a unity government. Assad qualified the move as interference in Syria’s internal affairs, underlining his determination to defeat a 10-month-old uprising seeking his overthrow. It was not immediately clear whether Syria would accept the League’s decision to … Continue reading
Opinion: Most Syrians back President Assad, but you’d never know from western media
A recent poll by The Doha Debates, is a good indicator of two things: 55% of Syrians do not want Bashar Al-Assad to resign and western medias do not believe this information to be important enough to be published or even discussed. The Doha Debates is funded by the Qatar Foundation which in turn is … Continue reading
Analysis: Possible way out for Syrian regime
In the face of massive unrest at home, international condemnation for its handling of the unrest, and rumors of foreign intervention, the Assad regime may have a way out, says Osama Al Sharif. The Arab League’s weak monitoring mission, the United States’ distractions in an election year, Europe’s dealing with a fiscal crisis, and Russia … Continue reading
Debate: The cost of Syria’s crackdown
Ten months of protests and a violent crackdown have taken a severe toll on the Syrian economy. Its currency is weakening, the recession is deepening and the government is so short of cash that it has been forced to levy a special tax on state workers. Is Syria facing a severe economic decline? And are … Continue reading
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says it is committed to defense treaty with Syria
While it responded to accusation of involvement in the repression Syria by saying it has not interfered, the Iranian government stressed its commitment to the mutual defense agreement biding Syria and Iran. A source within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said Iran views the situation in Syria as a domestic affair, and it will definitely intervene … Continue reading
‘I was threatened with death for doing my job’, says Arab League observer to Syria
An Algerian delegate who resigned from the Arab League’s observer mission in Syria details the Assad regime’s methods of intimidation and provocation in its attempt to keep the observers quiet. Assad’s tactics included death threats, public humiliation and sexual seduction, according to the delegate. He went on to say that Homs should be declared a … Continue reading
IDF preparing to take in Syrian refugees
IDF preparing to take in Syrian refugees
Poll: Arabs want Syria’s President Assad to go, but most Syrians don’t
An opinion poll conducted in December found that while 81% of Arabs want Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resign, 55% of Syrians do not want him to step down The Doha Debates, Qatar Click here for the full story
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