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fcastro2

The U.S. Needs to Rethink Its Anti-ISIS Approach in Syria | TIME - 0 views

time.com/...u-s-anti-isis-campaign-syria

ISIS syria politics US strategy

shared by fcastro2 on 09 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • As a result, morale among nationalist fighters in northern Syria has plummeted
  • ISIS remains essentially unchallenged in its heartland in northern Syria, despite repeated U.S. air strikes
  • In the south, nationalists have fared better at keeping ISIS out and Jabhat al Nusra in check, partly due to a coherent, rational U.S.-led support program operating covertly out of Jordan
  • ...14 more annotations...
  • A strategy to beat the jihadists and make sure they stay beaten must be locally-driven, led by nationalist forces supported by the Sunni population that forms the insurgency’s social base.
  • The U.S.-led air campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) has scored some points in Syria, weakening ISIS’s oil infrastructure and revenues and keeping the group out of Kobane
  • the promised U.S. train-and-equip program is unlikely to reverse the nationalists’ losses or jihadists’ gains in northern Syria
  • air strikes alone, and treating nationalist groups as agents rather than partners, violates this principle
  • , the U.S. has helped nationalists in the south avoid the fragmentation, infighting, and lawlessness that weakened them and benefited the jihadists in northern Syria
  • ISIS offers conquered populations the choice between submission – which brings a sense of order and some protection from regime violence – or futile resistance and death
  • Jabhat al Nusra has driven nationalist forces out of much of their core territory in northern Syria, and ISIS continues to threaten those that remain
  • Even if the coalition wants to avoid confronting regime forces, it can and should concentrate air strikes closer to ISIS’s front lines with the nationalist insurgency, helping the latter block ISIS advances in cooperation with local Kurdish forces when possible
  • the United States has excluded them from the coalition military effort
  • , U.S. interests would be better served by a two-pronged approach in northern and southern Syria, helping nationalist rebels contain ISIS and compete with Jabhat al Nusra for control of the insurgency.
  • U.S. airstrikes on jihadists have spared the regime’s forces and inadvertently killed Syrian civilians
  • that Sunni Muslims are under siege by oppressive regional minorities, Iran, and even the United States itself
  • Ironically, the coalition campaign has contributed to the near-collapse of nationalist forces in northern Syria who, despite their imperfections, were ISIS’s most effective rivals and competed with Jabhat al Nusra for leadership of the insurgency
  • campaign has had serious local side effects that have undermined the broader, long-term objective of degrading and destroying ISIS in Syria and preventing the Al Qaeda affiliate, Jabhat al Nusra, from replacing or thriving alongside ISIS
  • fcastro2 on 09 Mar 15
     
    The U.S. should no long really solely on air-strikes to bring down the ISIS group in Syria but it needs other strategic plans. They need to work with the people in Syria and gain their support and trust in order to defeat ISIS.
fcastro2

ANNE R. PIERCE: Beware ISIS strategy that fortifies Russia, Iran, and Syria - Washingto... - 0 views

www.washingtontimes.com/...-isis-strategy-fortifies-russi

strategy russia syria

shared by fcastro2 on 16 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • President Obama stressed the importance of showing the world “we are united in our resolv
  • Demonstration of united resolve against blood-thirsty terrorists whose ranks, ambitions and territory have grown exponentially is important
  • forging strategy to battle ISIS without also forging strategy to thwart Syria, Russia and Iran is a terrible mistake
  • ...14 more annotations...
  • brutality and aggression of the Islamic State, he still whitewashes the brutality and aggression of established states Syria, Russia and Iran, and still ignores the need for grand strategy to deal with them
  • We must, therefore, take Iran, Russia and Syria, and the collusion between them, seriously.
  • potentially, an even greater threat to the “free world” than ISIS. Because they are terror sponsors and supporters, WMD in their control means WMD out of control, susceptible to being sold or given to fanatics who are willing to work for their cause
  • working with the Iranian, Russian and Syrian regimes to address Middle Eastern problems and fight ISIS is a sure way to alienate Middle Eastern moderates and traditional partner
  • Russia’s staunch support of Syria and Iran; its ruthless aggression in Ukraine; and its expansionist designs in Eastern Europe, should make containing Russia an American foreign policy priority
  • Instead, much of the White House plan for combating ISIS plays right into Syrian, Iranian and Russian hands, for it revolves around their plans –which include allowing Assad to stay in power, legitimizing Russian-sponsored “peace conferences” that buy Assad time and raise Putin’s stature, accommodating the Iranian nuclear program, and giving Iran the lead in the battle against ISIS and in the Levant.
  • the United States has been mostly passive, while Russia, Iran and its proxies, and al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists, have seized the day.
  • opened the door to extremist groups eager to hijack the Syrian revolt and/or defend the Syrian regime
  • Iran and Russia have worked stolidly to protect Assad and capitalize on the chao
  • While the Obama administration justified its unwillingness to give meaningful aid to Syrian rebels with fear of helping extremists within rebel ranks, that stance allowed extremism within Syria to metastasize
  • development so serious that it now requires a military respons
  • Russia provided cover for Syria in the UN, and supplied many of the very weapons Assad uses to massacre civilian
  • the administration has endorsed yet more Russia-sponsored “peace talks”
  • President Obama and Secretary Kerry have backed even further away from demands that Assad leave, while even the goal of a transitional government which characterized the previous talks has been dropped
  • fcastro2 on 16 Mar 15
     
    Working with the Iranian, Russian and Syrian regimes to address Middle Eastern problems and fight ISIS is a sure way to alienate Middle Eastern moderates.
fcastro2

Syria keen on Russian expansion in Middle East - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East - 0 views

www.al-monitor.com/...se-intervention-expansion.html

syria russia politics

shared by fcastro2 on 09 Apr 15 - No Cached
  • Syria has called on its Russian ally to expand in the Middle East, by expanding its small pier in the city of Tartus and turning it into a base
  • This has coincided with Saudi Arabia leading a coalition against Ansar Allah in Yemen, with a cover by the United States
  • meeting with a group of Russian journalists March 27, and in response to a question on Damascus’ desire to see a wider Russian activity in the Middle East, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he certainly welcomes “any expansion of Russian presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, precisely on the Syrian shores and ports.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • Assad said: “The Russian presence in different parts of the world, including the Eastern Mediterranean and the Syrian port of Tartus, is very necessary, in order to create a sort of balance, which the world has lost after the dissolution of the Soviet Union more than 20 years ago.
  • Syrian president welcomed the Russian presence in his country and the region. “For us, the stronger this presence is in our region, the better it is for stability [in the region], because Russia is assuming an important role in world stability,”
  • Syrian nod is only a repetition of a former call made under the rule of late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, who saw that the presence of a Russian military representation in Syria in the Mediterranean region contributes to the promotion of the idea of “the balance of terror” against Israel and the United States
  • The talk was, however, halted, until the last two years, when an actual need to promote Russian presence in the Mediterranean emerged in light of the reignition of the Cold War.
  • deployment of missile systems on the Mediterranean coast, as a sort of “symbolic deterrence.” The rumors were repeated as the NATO missile defense project was announced, which was supposed to be deployed in different countries, including Turkey and other countries bordering Russia
  • e US invasion of Iraq, as the US desire to change the face of the Middle East seemed free of any rational considerations. Assad made several visits to Moscow, and although this has not been publicly mentioned, Syrian diplomats and officials stressed to As-Safir that Syria expressed its desire to expand the Russian presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly through Tartus, so that it turns into a military presence with limited standards
  • , Russia and Syria signed the biggest deal of its kind to explore oil in the Syrian waters, which covers a 2,190 square-kilometer surface area, and to achieve economic ambitions, namely extracting 2.5 billion barrels of oil and 8.5 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves, the oil and gas magazine said back then
  • is understandable, without neglecting the importance of other political and military issue
  • “any decision to modernize the infrastructure of the Russian Material-Technical Support Point in Tartus can only be made after a political decision is taken in this regard, in coordination with the Syrian side.” He explained that any modernization should “take into account the political and military situation in the Mediterranean region,” and therefore “it will include the promotion of all sorts of protection in the facility, including surface-to-air missiles and anti-riots weapons, and will be in coordination with the Syrian side.”
  • fcastro2 on 09 Apr 15
     
    Syria is determined to keep Russia in the loop when it comes to its presence in the Middle East. As the United States increases its presence so to those Russia and Syria claims that they encourage Russian presence solely to "keep the balance" in the Middle East. 
fcastro2

Syria crisis: Russia and China step up warning over strike - BBC News - 0 views

www.bbc.com/...world-us-canada-23845800

syria russia china politics US

shared by fcastro2 on 08 Apr 15 - No Cached
  • Russia and China have stepped up their warnings against military intervention in Syria, with Moscow saying any such action would have "catastrophic consequences" for the region
  • The US and its allies are considering launching strikes on Syria in response to deadly attacks
  • The US said there was "undeniable" proof of a chemical attack
  • ...23 more annotations...
  • UN chemical weapons inspectors are due to start a second day of investigations in the suburbs of Damascus
  • UN team came under sniper fire as they tried to visit an area west of the city
  • US officials said there was "little doubt" that President Bashar al-Assad's government was to blame
  • Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich has called on the international community to show "prudence" over the crisis and observe international law.
  • Attempts to bypass the Security Council, once again to create artificial groundless excuses for a military intervention in the region are fraught with new suffering in Syria and catastrophic consequences for other countries of the Middle East and North Africa
  • US said it was postponing a meeting on Syria with Russian diplomats, citing "ongoing consultations" about alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria
  • The two sides had been due to meet in The Hague on Wednesday to discuss setting up an international conference on finding a political solution to the crisis
  • Western powers were rushing to conclusions about who may have used chemical weapons in Syria before UN inspectors had completed their investigation
  • Both the Syrian government and rebels have blamed each other for last Wednesday's attacks
  • Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said three hospitals it supported in the Damascus area had treated about 3,600 patients with "neurotoxic symptoms", of whom 355 had died
  • UK is making contingency plans for military action in Syri
  • Earlier in the day, the UN convoy came under fire from unidentified snipers and was forced to turn back before resuming its journey
  • In the most forceful US reaction yet, US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday described the recent attacks in the Damascus area as a "moral obscenity
  • Syrian government had something to hide
  • What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world. It defies any code of moralit
  • President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world's most heinous weapons against the world's most vulnerable peopl
  • Analysts believe the most likely US action would be sea-launched cruise missiles targeting Syrian military installations.
  • the West had not produced any proof that President Assad's forces had used chemical weapons
  • some Western countries that military action against the Syrian government could be taken without a UN mandate
  • Mr Lavrov said the use of force without Security Council backing would be "a crude violation of international law
  • an international military response to the suspected use of chemical weapons would be possible without the backing of the UN
  • The UN Security Council is divided, with Russia and China opposing military intervention and the UK and France warning that the UN could be bypassed if there was "great humanitarian need".
  • if the West does not intervene to support freedom and democracy in Egypt and Syria, the Middle East will face catastrophe
  • fcastro2 on 08 Apr 15
     
    After Western powers suspected that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against the Syrian people, tensions grew against them and Russia, China, and Syria. The Eastern Powers believe that Western powers are overstepping their bounds for their need of power but the Western powers think that they need to interfere to help the people. 
fcastro2

Syria allies: Why Russia, Iran and China are standing by the regime - CNN.com - 1 views

www.cnn.com/...a-iran-china-russia-supporters

syria allies russia iran china middle east politics

shared by fcastro2 on 28 Jan 15 - No Cached
  • One has to do with economics; the other with ideology.
  • Russia is one of Syria's biggest arms suppliers
  • Syrian contracts with the Russian defense industry have likely exceeded $4 billion
  • ...29 more annotations...
  • Russia also leases a naval facility at the Syrian port of Tartu
  • Moscow also signed a $550 million deal with Syria for combat training jets
  • value of Russian arms sales to Syria at $162 million per year in both 2009 and 2010
  • Russia's key policy goal is blocking American efforts to shape the regio
  • Russia doesn't believe revolutions, wars and regime change bring stability and democracy
  • It believes humanitarian concerns are often used an excuse for pursuing America's own political and economic interests.
  • Putin's existential fear for his own survival and the survival of the repressive system that he and al-Assad represent
    • fcastro2
      fcastro2 on 28 Jan 15
       
      Putin is scared that the "west" will defeat Russia if Syria is defeated
  • not only driven by the need to preserve its naval presence in the Mediterranean, secure its energy contracts, or counter the West on 'regime change
  • al-Assad cannot lose because it means that one day he, Putin, might as well
  • The West handles the Islamic world the way a monkey handles a grenade," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin tweeted
  • Russia is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. It has the power to veto Security Council resolutions against the Syrian regime and has done so repeatedly over the past two years
  • religion and strategy.
  • Islamic Republic has provided technical help such as intelligence, communications and advice on crowd control and weapons as protests in Syria morphed into resistance
  • The last thing Iran wants now is a Sunni-dominated Syria -- especially as the rebels' main supporters are Iran's Persian Gulf rivals: Qatar and Saudi Arabi
  • proxy through which Iran can threaten Israel with an arsenal of short-range missiles
  • Iran counted on Syria as its only Arab ally during its eight-year war with Iraq. Iraq was Sunni-dominate
  • war between the front of hegemony and the front of resistance
  • Syrian government is a victim of international plots
  • Iran says the main objective of this plot is to make the region safer for Israe
  • Many believe Iran is Washington's greatest threat in the region, especially with its nuclear potential
  • the Americans will sustain damage like when they interfered in Iraq and Afghanistan
  • Syria's third-largest importer in 2010, according to data from the European Commission
  • maintain its financial tie
  • indicates that China sees Syria as an important trading hub
  • China has said foreign countries shouldn't meddle in Syria's internal affairs
  • Rather than siding with either Assad or the opposition and standing aside to 'wait and see,' Beijing is actively betting on both
  • China said it is firmly opposed to the use of chemical weapons and supports the U.N.'s chemical weapons inspectors.
  • It also said it wants a political solution for Syri
  • China is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. And like Russia, China has repeatedly blocked sanctions attempts against the Syrian regime
  • fcastro2 on 28 Jan 15
     
    Syria's allies, Russia, Iran, and China, all stand by them despite western powers opposing the Syrian government. There are different reasons to why these powers seem to stay with Syria such as Russia's ideologies, Iran's strategy, or China's trading. Either way, these government will stand by them until there is nothing left to lose. 
fcastro2

A daring plan to rebuild Syria - no matter who wins the war - Ideas - The Boston Globe - 0 views

www.bostonglobe.com/...story.html

syria plan war politics china russia the west

shared by fcastro2 on 23 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • The first year of Syria’s uprising, 2011, largely spared Aleppo, the country’s economic engine, largest city, and home of its most prized heritage sites. Fighting engulfed Aleppo in 2012 and has never let up since, making the city a symbol of the civil war’s grinding destruction
  • Rebels captured the eastern side of the city while the government held the wes
  • , residents say the city is virtually uninhabitable; most who remain have nowhere else to go
  • ...28 more annotations...
  • In terms of sheer devastation, Syria today is worse off than Germany at the end of World War II
  • ven as the fighting continues, a movement is brewing among planners, activists and bureaucrats—some still in Aleppo, others in Damascus, Turkey, and Lebanon—to prepare, right now, for the reconstruction effort that will come whenever peace finally arrives.
  • In a glass tower belonging to the United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, a project called the National Agenda for the Future of Syria has brought together teams of engineers, architects, water experts, conservationists, and development experts to grapple with seemingly impossible technical problems
  • It is good to do the planning now, because on day one we will be ready,”
  • The team planning the country’s future is a diverse one. Some are employed by the government of Syria, others by the rebels’ rival provisional government. Still others work for the UN, private construction companies, or nongovernmental organizations involved in conservation, like the World Monuments Fund
  • As the group’s members outline a path toward renewal, they’re considering everything from corruption and constitutional reform to power grids, antiquities, and health care systems.
  • Aleppo is split between a regime side with vestiges of basic services, and a mostly depopulated rebel-controlled zone, into which the Islamic State and the Al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front have made inroads over the last year
  • The population exodus has claimed most of the city’s craftsmen, medical personnel, academics, and industrialists
  • It took decades to clear the moonscapes of rubble and to rebuild, in famous targets like Dresden and Hiroshima but in countless other places as well, from Coventry to Nanking. Some places never recovered their vitality.
  • Of course, Syrian planners cannot help but pay attention to the model closest to home: Beirut, a city almost synonymous with civil war and flawed reconstructio
  • We don’t want to end up like Beirut,” one of the Syrian planners says, referring to the physical problems but also to a postwar process in which militia leaders turned to corrupt reconstruction ventures as a new source of funds and power
  • Syria’s national recovery will depend in large part on whether its industrial powerhouse Aleppo can bounce back
  • Across Syria, more than one-third of the population is displaced.
  • Today, however, the city’s water and power supply are under the control of the Islamic State
  • The city’s workshops, famed above all for their fine textiles, export millions of dollars’ worth of goods every week even now, and the economy has expanded to include modern industry as well.
  • A river of rubble marks the no-man’s land separating the two sides. The only way to cross is to leave the city, follow a wide arc, and reenter from the far side.
  • Parts of the old city won’t be inhabitable for years, he told me by Skype, because the ground has literally shifted as a result of bombing and shelling
  • The first and more obvious is creating realistic options to fix the country after the war—in some cases literal plans for building infrastructure systems and positioning construction equipment, in other cases guidelines for shaping governanc
  • They’re familiar with global “best practices,” but also with how things work in Syria, so they’re not going to propose pie-in-the-sky idea
  • If some version of the current regime remains in charge, it will probably direct massive contracts toward patrons in Russia, China, or Iran. The opposition, by contrast, would lean toward firms from the West, Turkey, and the Gulf.
  • At the current level of destruction, the project planners estimate the reconstruction will cost at least $100 billion
  • Recently a panel of architects and heritage experts from Sweden, Bosnia, Syria, and Lebanon convened in Beirut to discuss lessons for Syria’s reconstruction—one of the many distinct initiatives parallel to the Future of Syria project.
  • “You should never rebuild the way it was,” said Arna Mackic, an architect from Mostar. That Bosnian city was divided during the 1990s civil war into Muslim and Catholic sides, destroying the city center and the famous Stari Most bridge over the Neretva River. “The war changes us. You should show that in rebuilding.”
  • Instead, Mackik says, the sectarian communities keep to their own enclaves. Bereft of any common symbols, the city took a poll to figure out what kind of statue to erect in the city center. All the local figures were too polarizing. In the end they settled on a gold-colored statue of the martial arts star Bruce Lee
  • “It belongs to no one,” Mackic says. “What does Bruce Lee mean to me?
  • is that it could offer the city’s people a form of participatory democracy that has so far eluded the Syrian regime and sadly, the opposition as well.
  • “You are being democratic without the consequences of all the hullabaloo of formal democratization
  • A great deal of money has been invested in Syria’s destruction— by the regime, the local parties to the conflict, and many foreign powers. A great deal of money will be made in the aftermath, in a reconstruction project that stands to dwarf anything seen since after World War II.
  • fcastro2 on 23 Feb 15
     
    While it is still unclear as to who will win the Syrian conflict, there are people who are already looking towards the future and a better Syria. Plans are being made but, of course, these plans will entirely depend on who wins the war. 
fcastro2

Syria rejects foreign ground troops to fight ISIS - 0 views

english.alarabiya.net/...und-troops-to-fight-ISIS-.html

syria jordan ISIS foreign aid

shared by fcastro2 on 23 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • fcastro2 on 23 Feb 15
     
    Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem stated on Monday, February 9, 2015 that they will not allow foreign ground troops on its territory to fight ISIS. While Syria does not want foreign ground troops, they did ask to coordinate with Jordan against ISIS but Jordan did not respond to their request. For now, Jordan and Syria are not coordinating against terrorist attacks by ISIS and Syria will not take aid from other foreign states.
  • fcastro2 on 23 Feb 15
     
    Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem stated on Monday, February 9, 2015 that they will not allow foreign ground troops on its territory to fight ISIS. While Syria does not want foreign ground troops, they did ask to coordinate with Jordan against ISIS but Jordan did not respond to their request. For now, Jordan and Syria are not coordinating against terrorist attacks by ISIS and Syria will not take aid from other foreign states.
fcastro2

Syria crisis: Where key countries stand - BBC News - 0 views

www.bbc.com/...world-middle-east-23849587

syria politics Russia China US UK France Arab States

shared by fcastro2 on 08 Apr 15 - No Cached
  • The eruption of civil conflict in Syria in 2011 very quickly provoked a deep split in the international community over which side to back and what outcome to see
  • Syria regarded as the world's most pressing crisis, the US and Russia, along with other permanent members of the UN Security Council, Turkey and Arab states, have attempted to resolve their differences.
  • Their Geneva Communique, which calls for a transitional government based on "mutual consent", has become the basis for peace talks in the Swiss city. But it is clear the sides have different interpretations of the plan, and have so far failed to achieve a breakthroug
  • ...20 more annotations...
  • US wants Bashar al-Assad out of power, and is pushing for the transitional government called for in the Geneva communique.
  • President Barack Obama sought Congressional support for military action but postponed the vote - which was not certain to pass - when Syria indicated it would surrender its chemical stockpile
  • United States has been one of the most prominent advocates of firm action against the Syrian government, which it has accused of using chemical weapons and other atrocities.
  • It is backing Syria's "moderate opposition" with "non-lethal" assistance, including communications equipment, generators, and office supplies - but is also believed to be supplying light weapon
  • Russia is one of Mr Assad's most important international backers and has warned the US and its allies against taking one-sided action against Syria
  • Russia was key to Syria agreeing to give up chemical weapons, and backs the Geneva Communique. But it has repeatedly said Syria's future should be decided by Syrians and blocked anti-Assad resolutions at the UN Security Council. It continues to supply Syria with arms, including missile systems and aircraft
  • Britain has been a big critic of the Assad government and signed a statement in 2013 calling for a "strong international respons
  • supported military action but had to rule out Britain's involvement when he failed to secure the backing of parliament in August 2013.
  • UK, along with France, successfully lobbied for the EU's arms embargo to be lifted so as to allow further supplies to Syrian rebels
  • France has been among the most hawkish Western countries and was the first to stop recognising the Syrian government and deal with the main opposition coalition instead.
  • France up to join US military action until plans were put on hold. The president acknowledged that France could not, and would not, act on its own
  • China has joined Russia in blocking resolutions critical of Syria at the UN Security Council. It has criticised the prospect of strikes against Syria, insisting any military action without UN approval would be illegal.
  • Turkish government has been one of the most vocal critics of Syrian President Assad since early on in the uprising and signalled its willingness to join international action even without UN approval
  • Saudi Arabia has been a rival of the Syrian government for years. It has been particularly active in pushing for action against Mr Assad, and called for "all legal means possible" to be used to stop the bloodshed
  • Qatar is thought to be one of the main suppliers of weapons to Syrian rebels and says outside military intervention has become a necessity to protect the Syrian people.
  • ebanon there is deep division between supporters and opponents of President Assad. The country has suffered from an overspill of violence, including bomb attacks, as well as a huge flood of refugees. It has said it thinks military intervention might make the situation worse.
  • Jordan has also received hundreds of thousands of refugees and has called for a political solution to the conflic
  • Iran has been Syria's main backer in the region since well before the current conflict.
  • Iran has warned that any foreign intervention risks sparking a regional war.
  • Israel regards President Assad as an enemy, but has refrained from publicly backing military action against him. It fears its backing could alienate the Arab world,
  • fcastro2 on 08 Apr 15
     
    This article details were certain countries, that are most affected by the Syrian conflict, stand within the conflict and how they would like to solve the issue. 
fcastro2

Tunisia says plans to renew ties with Syria to help track fighters | Reuters - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...-tunisia-idUSKBN0MT14420150402

tunisia syria politics ISIS militant fighters

shared by fcastro2 on 08 Apr 15 - No Cached
  • Tunisia said on Thursday it plans to reopen a consulate in Syria and offered to invite the Syrian ambassador back to Tunisia in part to help track an estimated 3,000 Tunisian militants fighting in Iraq and Syria.
  • two Tunisians who trained with militants in neighboring Libya, stormed the Tunis Bardo museum and shot 21 foreign tourists, one of Tunisia's worst such attack
  • We will not have an ambassador there, but Tunisia will open a consulate or put in place a charge d'affaires, and a Syria ambassador is welcome to Tunisia, if Syria wishes so
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • He gave no dates
  • The minister said a consular presence in Syria would help Tunisia glean information on Tunisians fighting alongside Islamist militants in Iraq and Syria and who officials fear will return to carry out attacks at home.
  • Tunisia would also reestablish diplomatic relations with neighboring Libya
  • Tunisia completed a mostly peaceful transition to democracy but has struggled to clamp down on Islamist militants who have been carrying out regular attacks.
  • After withdrawing their envoys after the start of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2011, some European Union countries have started to privately support more communication with Damascus.
  • Several countries including China, Indonesia and top allies Russia and Iran have envoys or charge d'affaires in Damascus
  • fcastro2 on 08 Apr 15
     
    Following an attack on a museum in Tunisia, they plan to open a consulate in Syria and plan to renew their ties with the Syrian government. They state that this is so that they can track Tunisian militant fighters who have joined ISIS and to prevent them form any future attacks. 
fcastro2

Turkey shuts border crossings as fighting worsens around Syria's Aleppo | Reuters - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...ndonesia-idUSKBN0M71VT20150311

turkey border fighting syria ISIS war

shared by fcastro2 on 25 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • Turkey has closed two border crossings with Syria as a security precaution as fighting around the northern Syrian city of Aleppo intensifies
  • crossings at Oncupinar and Cilvegozu in Turkey's southern Hatay province have been shut to vehicles and individuals crossing from Syria since Monday,
  • "Turkey has some security concerns and it is natural for measures to be taken based on the threat assessment conducted
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • Humanitarian aid will not be affected, the government official said. Syrians with passports are still allowed to cross into Syria
  • Turkey has kept its borders open to refugees since the start of Syria's civil war four years ago, but it has come under criticism for doing too little to keep foreign fighters crossing and joining militant groups including Islamic State
  • divided between government forces and insurgent groups fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad in a conflict estimated to have killed 200,000 people
  • The closure of the Turkish border posts also comes after an air strike on Sunday
  • fcastro2 on 25 Mar 15
     
    After fighting increased in Syria, Turkey decided to close dow two border crossings that lead to Syria as a precaution. Until this point, Turkey has kept its borders open to Syrian refugees and even so it still has been criticized for doing too little to stop foreign fighters from entering Syria. 
nicolet1189

BBC News - Battle for Iraq and Syria in maps - 0 views

www.bbc.com/...world-middle-east-27838034

Isis Syria Iraq air strikes

shared by nicolet1189 on 29 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • The US with Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched 14 strikes against IS in Syria, hitting a number of targets, including Raqqa, a stronghold in eastern Syria captured by the group in 2013.
  • al-Qaeda veterans named
  • These refineries are believed to be producing "between 300-500 barrels of refined petrolium per day", generating as much as $2 million (£1.2m) per day for the militants, a key source of revenue for IS.
  • ...17 more annotations...
  • Khorasan
  • killed 14 of the group's fighters and five civilians
  • more than 200 attacks on IS targets in Iraq since 8 August. F
  • concentrated on targets around the Mosul Dam -
  • a caliphate, or Islamic state, stretching from Aleppo in Syria to the province of Diyala in Iraq.
  • Mosul
  • Ramadi
  • Falluja
  • Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
  • beneath him are four advisory councils:
  • 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria -
  • 12,000 fighters from almost 80 countries
  • foreign recruits - the number of whom has surged since IS declared itself a caliphate in the summer, international investigators say.
  • majority are from nearby Arab countries, such as Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
  • 16 "wilayats", or provinces, that IS claims to control,
  • match areas where its predecessor, al-Qaeda in Iraq
  • three million people have fled abroad to escape the fighting in Syria.
  • nicolet1189 on 29 Sep 14
     
    This article provides a detailed outline of the battle against ISIS in Iraq and Syria through the use of maps, charts, and photographs to allow readers to visualize areas where fighting is taking place. Several maps provide locations of ISIS controlled territory, locations of airstrikes, and locations of ISIS controlled oil refineries. It was really helpful to see different maps outlining this information because I often hear about this conflict on the radio or television programs and it can be hard to understand the scope of the conflict without any visual aids. I really appreciated the effort to show in detail the specific locations.
  • nicolet1189 on 13 Oct 14
     
    This article outlined the fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq providing detailed maps, charts, and photos to present a more clear picture of where violence and air strikes are occurring.
fcastro2

Iraq and Syria are 'finishing schools' for foreign extremists, says UN report | World n... - 0 views

www.theguardian.com/...eign-extremists-says-un-report

syria iraq ISIS politics foreign fighters

shared by fcastro2 on 08 Apr 15 - No Cached
  • Iraq and Syria have become “international finishing schools” for extremists according to a UN report which says the number of foreign fighters joining terrorist groups has spiked to more than 25,000 from more than 100 countrie
  • monitoring UN sanctions against al-Qaida estimates the number of overseas terrorist fighters worldwide increased by 71% between mid-2014 and March 2015
  • problem had increased over the past three years and the flow of foreign fighters was “higher than it has ever been historically
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • risen sharply from a few thousand … a decade ago to more than 25,000 today
  • The report said just two countries had drawn more than 20,000 foreign fighters: Syria and Iraq. They went to fight primarily for the Islamic State group
  • ited the “high number” of foreign fighters from Tunisia, Morocco, France and Russia, the increase in fighters from the Maldives, Finland and Trinidad and Tobago, and the first fighters from some countries in sub-Saharan Africa which it did not name. The groups had also found recruits from Britain and Australia.
  • foreign fighters who travelled to Syria and Iraq were living and working in “a veritable ‘international finishing school’ for extremists”, as was the case in Afghanistan in the 199
  • while governments are focusing on countering the threat from fighters returning home, the panel said it was possible that some may be traumatised by what they saw and need psychological help, and that others may be recruited by criminal networks.
  • The number of countries the fighters come from has also risen dramatically from a small group in the 1990s to more than 100 today — more than half the countries in the world
  • A military defeat of the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq could have the unintended consequence of scattering violent foreign terrorist fighters across the world
  • an urgent global security problem” that needed to be tackled on many fronts and had no easy solution
  • With globalised travel, it said, the chance of a person from any country becoming a victim of a foreign terrorist attack was growing “particularly with attacks targeting hotels, public spaces and venues
  • It said the most effective policy was to prevent the radicalisation, recruitment and travel of would-be fighters.
  • fcastro2 on 08 Apr 15
     
    The fighting in Syria and Iraq has expanded and gained more foreign fighters from many more countries around the world. 
alarsso

Understanding Syria: From Pre-Civil War to Post-Assad - The Atlantic - 0 views

www.theatlantic.com/...281989

syria understanding history causes war revolution transition

shared by alarsso on 08 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • xtreme temperatures
  • drought from 2006 to 2011
  • 2001 to 2010, Syria had 60 “significant” dust storms.
  • ...70 more annotations...
  • lessening of rainfall
  • as of the last year before the civil war, only about 13,500 square kilometers could be irrigated
  • agriculture
  • 20 percent of national income
  • employed about 17 percent
  • Syria’s oil is of poor quality, sour, and expensive to refine
  • densely populated
  • less than 0.25 hectares (just over a third of an acre) of agricultural land per person
  • population/resource ratio is out of balance.
  • So it is important to understand how their “social contract”—their view of their relationship with one another and with the government—evolved and then shattered.
  • threw the country into the arms of
  • Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser
  • or three and a half years
  • part of the United Arab Republic
  • A fundamental problem they faced was what it meant to be a Syrian.
  • 1961 Syrians were thrown back on their own resources
  • The majority of those who became Syrians were Arabic-speaking Sunni Muslims
  • seven and eight in 10 Syrians saw themselves as Muslim Arab
  • being a Muslim Arab as the very definition of Syrian identity.
  • Nationalists took this diversity as a primary cause of weakness and adopted as their primary task integrating the population into a single political and social structure.
  • Israel
  • Looming over Syrian politics and heightening the tensions
  • A ceasefire, negotiated in 1974, has held, but today the two states are still legally at war.
  • or Hafez al-Assad, the secular, nationalist Baath Party was a natural choice: it offered, or seemed to offer, the means to overcome his origins in a minority community and to point toward a solution to the disunity of Syrian politics
  • bridge the gaps between rich and poor
  • socialism
  • Muslims and minorities
  • Islam
  • society
  • hould be modern
  • secular
  • defined by a culture of “Arabism”
  • the very antithesis of
  • Muslim Brotherhood
  • military, which seemed
  • o embody the nation.
  • help the Syrian people to live better provided only that they not challenge his rule
  • his stern and often-brutal monopoly of power
  • foreign troublemakers
  • Hafez al-Assad sided with Iran in the Iran-Iraq war
  • During the rule of the two Assads, Syria made considerable progress.
  • locked into the cities and towns
  • they f
  • had to compete
  • Palestinians
  • Iraqis
  • Syria was already a refuge
  • March 15, 2011
  • small group gathered in the southwestern town of Daraa to protest against government failure to help them
  • government saw them as subversives.
  • He ordered a crackdown
  • And the army,
  • responded violently.
  • Riots broke out
  • attempted to quell them with military
  • what had begun as a food and water issue gradually turned into a political and religious cause.
  • interpretation of Islam
  • the Syrian government is charged with using illegal chemical weapons
  • All observers agree that the foreign-controlled and foreign-constituted insurgent groups are the most coherent, organized, and effective
  • astonishing as they share no common language and come from a wide variety of cultures
  • slam has at least so far failed to provide an effective unifying force
  • all the rebels regard the conflict in Syria as fundamentally a religious issue
  • pwards of $150 billion
  • a whole generation of Syrians have been subjected to either or both the loss of their homes and their trust in fellow human beings.
  • How the victims and the perpetrators can be returned to a “normal life”
  • First, the war might continue.
  • Second, if the Syrian government continues or even prevails, there is no assurance that,
  • t will be able to suppress the insurgency.
  • Third,
  • Syria will remain effectively “balkanized”
  • alarsso on 08 Feb 15
     
    This article captures Syria's geography, history, and all events leading up to the state Syria is in today.
fcastro2

Turkish Military Evacuates Soldiers Guarding Tomb in Syria - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...turky-syria-tomb-isis.html

ISIS syria politics turkey

shared by fcastro2 on 23 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • The Turkish Army sent armored troops deep into Syria late Saturday on a rescue mission, to recover the remains of a major historical figure and to evacuate the guards at his besieged tomb
  • The tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, is 20 miles south of the Turkish border, but it has been considered Turkish territory under a 1921 treaty with France
  • there were no clashes during the mission and only one casualty, a soldier who was killed in an accident
  • ...16 more annotations...
  • He said Turkey notified the Syrian government, rebel leaders and the coalition forces fighting the Islamic State about the operation.
  • 572 troops, 39 tanks, 57 armored vehicles and 100 other vehicles were involved
  • Turkish flag was lowered, and the tomb and security station were destroyed to prevent any possible use by extremists.
  • operation was prompted by the chaos and instability in Syria
  • clashes were likely to erupt nearby between forces of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and Kurdish troops known as pesh merga, and that the tomb could become a target.
  • “The Suleyman Shah tomb has been a point of vulnerability for Turkey for a long time, and with this operation, such weakness has been eliminated
  • “The Islamic State could have used the presence of the tomb as leverage in case of any confrontation with Turkey
  • in accordance with the 1921 treaty, a new tomb for Suleyman Shah was being established in a part of Syria that is under Kurdish control
  • when conditions in Syria permitted, the tomb would be moved back again to the site that was evacuated, near the village of Karakozak
  • Tensions have mounted around the tomb since March, when the Islamic State took control of the surrounding area and began threatening to destroy the tomb unless guards there lowered the Turkish flag.
  • The militant group raided Turkey’s consulate in Mosul, Iraq, last June and seized 46 Turks and 3 Iraqis as hostages; they were released three months later on terms that were not disclosed
  • crisis discouraged Turkey from joining the United States-led military coalition conducting strikes against the Islamic State, though Turkey has cooperated with the United States in other ways,
  • Turkey has lobbied intensively for international military action in Syria, including no-fly zones and a presence on the ground to strengthen the more moderate Syrian rebel groups who are fighting both the extremists and the Syrian government.
  • Syrian government issued a statement on Sunday calling the military operation a “flagrant aggression” because Turkey did not wait for permission from Damascus to mount i
  • The Kurds were aided by airstrikes and other support from the American-led coalition
  • Mr. Ulgen, the analyst, said the choice of route was a sign of some improvement in relations between the Turkish government in Ankara and the Syrian Kurds, whom the Turks have regarded with deep suspicion.
  • fcastro2 on 23 Feb 15
     
    The Turkish government recently went into an extremist-controlled territory in order to evacuate a tomb of a major historical figure, and the soldiers who guarded it. The safe passage of this mission has shown that the relations between Turkey and Syria have gotten a bit better. 
hkerby2

Syria begins destruction of chemical weapons facilities - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...lweapons-idUSKBN0KS1GY20150119

syria OPCW destruction chemical weapons

shared by hkerby2 on 15 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • hkerby2 on 15 Feb 15
     
    After a long delay, Syria has begun its destruction of dozens of storage facilities used to house chemical weapons. Syria joined the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) after an attack in Damascus killed more than 1000 people in 2013. Syria has handed over thousands of pounds of chemical agents since joining the OPCW but has yet to disclose any documentation about its chemical weapons program.
fcastro2

Turkey arrests 19 foreigners heading to Syria - 0 views

www.middleeastmonitor.com/...19-foreigners-heading-to-syria

turkey syria ISIS war foreign fighters

shared by fcastro2 on 25 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • Security forces in southern Turkey have arrested 19 foreigners as they tried to enter Syria illegally
  • those arrested included a pregnant woman, one of 13 Indonesians, a French citizen, two Russians, two Libyans and someone from Kyrgyzstan
  • arrested at checkpoints established by the Turkish government along the border with Syria in an effort to stop people crossing over to join ISIS
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Western governments and media have blamed Ankara for not doing enough to prevent the flow of foreigners into Syria
  • more than 12,500 people have been blocked from entering Turkey and that the government has deported more than 1,150 people since January
  • Turkey is doing its bit [to stop the flow into Syria] and will continue to do so
  • fcastro2 on 25 Mar 15
     
    There are still numerous foreigners attempting to enter Syria in order to join the group ISIS. Many of these foreigners attempt to go through Turkey and while some Western countries criticize Turkey on the number of people still crossing, the Prime Minister believes he is doing as much as he can. 
ralph0

Report: Dozens of Russian generals in Syria killed after a car bomb hits their military... - 0 views

www.jpost.com/...its-their-military-base-445975

Russia Syria war generals ceasefire Israel

shared by ralph0 on 24 Feb 16 - No Cached
  • ralph0 on 24 Feb 16
     
    An interesting article about "dozens of Russian generals" being killed in Syria. I am very curious about this article because it comes from "The Jerusalem Post." From what I recall, Israel's relations with Syria are not the best. This brings me to question why no other news outlet has published such news, and how "The Jerusalem Post" is so well informed about the happenings in Syria.
mcooka

Education Has Never Been Deadlier for Syria's Children - Save the Children - 0 views

www.savethechildren.org/...content2.aspx

education system Syria egypt war

shared by mcooka on 24 Feb 16 - No Cached
  • Education is now one of the deadliest pursuits for children and teachers inside Syria, as the country's schools are increasingly being damaged and destroyed in the conflict.
  • chools are being increasingly forced to close because of the conflict
  • Syria has now descended to the second worst rate of school attendance in the world with 2.8 million children out of schoo
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • t is absolutely shameful that the obligation to protect schools is not being respected in this conflict
  • Syrian refugee children in neighbouring countries are facing disturbing rates of abuse, bullying, corporal punishment and marginalization
  • p to half of children surveyed by the agency in Syria reported they were 'rarely' or 'never' able to concentrate in class
  • Syrian children are dropping out of school by the day, and the international community has to step up its response to ensure that we do not lose an entire generation of children."
  • Four years into the Syria crisis, overall enrolment in Syrian schools has halved from near 100% pre-crisis levels, while enrolment in the hardest hit areas such as Aleppo has plummeted to just 6%
  • And those children who have managed to escape the conflict in Syria are also missing out on education with devastating consequences. One in 10 Syrian refugee children across the region are estimated to be working, and the figure is likely to be much higher. In Jordan, 47% of refugee families reported relying partly or entirely on their children's income in a recent assessment.
  • We have heard from children being cursed and ridiculed by teachers in host countries, being told that they have ruined their country or to go back to Syria," Hearn said. "Others face corporal punishment at school. In Egypt alone, 30% of children we interviewed told us they were being hit by teachers and 70% are being verbally abused
  • Refugee children are also faced with learning an unfamiliar curriculum or even a teacher speaking a language they cannot understand.
  • mcooka on 24 Feb 16
     
    This article is focused on the failing education in Syria. Syrian children have stopped attending school out of fear for their lives. An almost perfect 100% attendance rate plummeted to 6%. Syrian refugee children are forced to use different school curriculum's which can be difficult and confusing.  
benjaming9

Syria warns against foreign intervention - Middle East - Al Jazeera English - 0 views

www.aljazeera.com/...-state-201491114243147712.html

shared by benjaming9 on 15 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • benjaming9 on 15 Sep 14
     
    This is a response by several groups about Obamas adress regarding the attacks on ISIS within Syria. Damascus and the Assad regime and the Coalition of Syria are fighting for control of Syria and are at odds with the Presidents words. Also a Russian minister accused these proposed atatcks of being "an act of agression" and would violate international law. Yes, because Russia ALWAYS abides by international law
fcastro2

Pope Francis uses Easter message to focus on Kenya, Syria and Iraq | World news | The G... - 0 views

www.theguardian.com/...-focus-on-kenya-syria-and-iraq

pope syria ISIS peace

shared by fcastro2 on 08 Apr 15 - No Cached
  • Pope Francis used his Easter message on Sunday to pray for the nearly 150 victims of the Kenya university massacre, and highlight the suffering of people across the Middle East
  • We ask for peace, above all, for Syria and Iraq, that the roar of arms may cease and that peaceful relations be restored among the various groups which make up those beloved countries
  • The Argentinian pontiff called on the international community to “not stand by before the immense humanitarian tragedy unfolding in these countries”, drawing on the plight of refugees who have fled the violence.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • he prayed for refugees “suffering a brutal persecution” in Iraq and Syria, as Islamic State militants took over swaths of territory in the two countries
  • On Sunday Francis went beyond Syria and Iraq, referring also to the worsening situation in Libya. As rival militias vie for power, the pope spoke of his hopes “that the present absurd bloodshed and all barbarous acts of violence may cease”.
  • The pope’s speech was preceded by a multilingual mass, which included prayers in Arabic and Chinese, attended by thousands of followers.
  • Syria
  • fcastro2 on 08 Apr 15
     
    This message shows how everyone around the world, not just government, is concerned about the Syrian crisis. 
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