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Category: War

As the world stands by, Assad and Putin are ready to crush the last of the Syrian revolution’s democrats

As the world stands by, Assad and Putin are ready to crush the last of the Syrian revolution’s democrats

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Leila Al-Shami writes: The Syrian regime is determined to reconquer all of the territory it has lost. Aided by Russian bombers and Iranian troops, and emboldened by its success in terrorizing the populations of Ghouta and Daraa into submission, President Bashar al-Assad’s government is now preparing to attack Idlib, the last remaining province outside of his control. Idlib is home to some three million people, about half of them displaced, or forcibly evacuated, to the province from elsewhere. Many are…

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‘Time for this war in Afghanistan to end,’ says departing U.S. commander

‘Time for this war in Afghanistan to end,’ says departing U.S. commander

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The New York Times reports: When American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Lt. Col. John W. Nicholson Jr. survived by chance. That morning, as dozens of his colleagues were killed, he was moving house and wasn’t at his desk — which he said was 100 feet from the nose of the plane. Nearly 17 years to the day, now a four-star general departing as the commander of the American and NATO forces…

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Microwave weapons are prime suspect in attacks on U.S. embassy staff in Cuba

Microwave weapons are prime suspect in attacks on U.S. embassy staff in Cuba

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The New York Times reports: During the Cold War, Washington feared that Moscow was seeking to turn microwave radiation into covert weapons of mind control. More recently, the American military itself sought to develop microwave arms that could invisibly beam painfully loud booms and even spoken words into people’s heads. The aims were to disable attackers and wage psychological warfare. Now, doctors and scientists say such unconventional weapons may have caused the baffling symptoms and ailments that, starting in late…

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Russia softens up West for bloodbath it is planning in Syria’s Idlib province

Russia softens up West for bloodbath it is planning in Syria’s Idlib province

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Simon Tisdall writes: Russia is going to extraordinary lengths to justify in advance the murderous onslaught that observers fear is about to descend on Idlib, a province in north-west Syria that is home to nearly two million internally displaced people. Idlib is the last large populated area outside the control of Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s dictator. And Assad, backed by his Russian and Iranian allies, is determined to get it back – whatever the human cost. In a series of coordinated…

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As final Syrian showdown looms, millions of lives are at risk

As final Syrian showdown looms, millions of lives are at risk

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The Washington Post reports: With Syria’s rebels nearing defeat after seven years at war, President Bashar al-Assad’s army says it is turning its firepower against their final stronghold. The target, Idlib province, is largely controlled by an al-Qaeda-linked militant group. Caught in the middle are millions of civilians with nowhere left to run. Public pronouncements by Syrian and Russian officials foreshadow a devastating attack if diplomacy and the pleas of aid groups for restraint are not heeded. On Wednesday, Russian…

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U.S., Russia engage in war of words as Syria attack looms

U.S., Russia engage in war of words as Syria attack looms

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Al Jazeera reports: Russia has deployed a dozen warships to the Mediterranean Sea in what a Russian newspaper on Tuesday called Moscow’s largest naval buildup since it entered the Syrian conflict in 2015. The reinforcement comes as Russia’s ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is believed to be considering a major assault on the last rebel-held enclave in northern Idlib province. Russia has accused the United States of building up its own forces in the Middle East in preparation for a…

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ISIS is ready for a resurgence

ISIS is ready for a resurgence

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Hassan Hassan writes: For nearly a year, Islamic State–watchers had wondered whether Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the group, was alive. Then, on Wednesday, he resurfaced for the first time in 11 months, releasing a recorded speech to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. In the 55-minute speech—his longest of those that have been made public—he referenced recent events, indicating that it was recorded over the past few weeks. The speech came amid reports of a resurgence by…

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‘Iraqis aren’t spiritual. They like to party’

‘Iraqis aren’t spiritual. They like to party’

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The Washington Post reports: It’s nearing midnight on a Thursday and the streets are jammed with traffic. There are people heading home after dinner with family and friends, and people for whom the night has just begun. At the newly opened Ibrahim Basha club, the party is just getting going. A Syrian singer with waist-length blond hair and sky-high pink heels is singing Arabic hits, accompanied by a talented Iraqi musician alternately playing the saxophone, the piano and the oud….

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Did Harappan civilization avoid war for 2,000 years?

Did Harappan civilization avoid war for 2,000 years?

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Annalee Newitz writes: The Harappan civilization dominated the Indus River valley beginning about five thousand years ago, many of its massive cities sprawling at the edges of rivers that still flow through Pakistan and India today. But its culture remains a mystery. Why did it leave behind no representations of great leaders, nor of warfare? Archaeologists have long wondered whether the Harappan civilization could actually have thrived for roughly 2,000 years without any major wars or leadership cults. Obviously people…

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Iraqis who helped U.S. military now face obstacles being granted refugee status

Iraqis who helped U.S. military now face obstacles being granted refugee status

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Reuters reports: Trump campaigned in 2016 promising tight restrictions on immigration, and in the past year and a half, his administration has sharply reduced refugee admissions through executive orders and closed-door decisions. The refugee ceiling Trump set last year of 45,000 is the lowest since 1980, when the modern refugee program was established. The United States is on track to admit about 22,000 refugees this year, approximately half of the maximum allowed. Advocates for Iraqis who worked for the U.S….

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How Russia, China or America could accidentally start a nuclear war

How Russia, China or America could accidentally start a nuclear war

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BBC News reports: A mysterious Russian satellite displaying “very abnormal behaviour” has raised alarm in the US, according to a State Department official. “We don’t know for certain what it is and there is no way to verify it,” said assistant secretary Yleem Poblete at a conference in Switzerland on 14 August. She voiced fears that it was impossible to say if the object may be a weapon. Russia has dismissed the comments as “unfounded, slanderous accusations based on suspicions”….

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A generation of American soldiers with little to fight for but one another

A generation of American soldiers with little to fight for but one another

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C.J. Chivers writes: Second Platoon did not hide its dark mood as its soldiers waded across the Korengal River in the bright light of afternoon. It was early in April 2009 and early in the Pentagon’s resumption in earnest of the Afghan war. The platoon’s mission was to ascend a mountain slope and try to ambush the Taliban at night. They were about 30 men in all, riflemen and machine-gunners reinforced with scouts, a mix of original platoon members and…

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We are witnessing the birth pains of a new and vile authoritarianism in Syria

We are witnessing the birth pains of a new and vile authoritarianism in Syria

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HA Hellyer writes: Domestic officials’ records in Syria are being updated and so many Syrians who have been worrying about missing loved ones are finally getting a bit of closure. But it is a bittersweet type of transparency – because the regime is declaring that many of those who were missing have actually been killed. As one Syria expert, Dr Thomas Pierret, put it, there has been “bulk delivery of death notifications to families of Syrian prisoners” by the Assad…

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How war has changed Syrian society

How war has changed Syrian society

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An essay penned collectively by Synaps’ Syria team says: Syria’s war has transformed the country in both shattering and subtle ways. While many evolutions are for the worse, others inspire cautious optimism: Syrians have shown relentless ingenuity in adapting to every stage of a horrendous conflict, salvaging remnants of dignity, solidarity and vitality amid nightmarish circumstances. They have generally done so on their own terms, grappling with changes ignored by virtually everyone who claims to help or represent them. These…

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The world abetted Assad’s victory in Syria

The world abetted Assad’s victory in Syria

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Christopher Phillips writes: After more than seven years of a civil war that has left half of Syria’s population displaced, cities reduced to rubble, and over 500,000 killed, President Bashar al-Assad appears to be on the brink of victory. In July, units loyal to Assad recaptured Deraa, where the peaceful protests that turned into a violent rebellion against him first began in 2011. The recapture came as Assad conquered the south, one of the last rebel holdouts. The war is…

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