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Syria Tag

Posted by David Gerstman on April 26, 2013 7 Comments

Next in Syria Why hasn't the United States acted more strongly against Bashar Assad? Read: nyti.ms/12Ke82b on Assad's effort to sell his line to the US. Then this on why WH has already bought it: mme.cm/887R00— Tony Badran (@AcrossTheBay) April 25, 2013 The New York Times reports on...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 25, 2013 11 Comments

The use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime was supposed to be a red line. Two days ago, when Israel suggested chemical weapons had been used, it was dismissed as Israel trying to maneuver U.S. policy. The U.S. now has evidence that such weapons were used,...

Posted by David Gerstman on April 22, 2013 4 Comments

1) The red line? Back in December, NBC News reported that Syria had loaded chemical weapons onto planes and was prepared to use them against civilians. Syria prepared to use chemical weapons against own people; military awaits final orders, US officials tell @nbcnews nbcnews.to/RCH3Cz— Breaking News (@BreakingNews)...

Posted by David Gerstman on April 18, 2013 1 Comment

1)  Syria and contiguity Jacques Neria writes in Stalemate in the Syrian Civil War: While Assad has survived so far, he has not been able to quell the rebellion, the economy is in shambles, and so are most of the areas hit by the civil war. Hundreds...

Posted by David Gerstman on April 10, 2013 2 Comments

1) Egyptian plagues Last week Zvi Mazel wrote in the Jerusalem Post (h/t Leslie Eastman) In a remarkable and enduring show of unity, non-Islamic opposition parties under the banner of the National Salvation Front are boycotting the regime until their demands – canceling the Islamic constitution...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 18, 2013 11 Comments

From The Daily Star in Lebanon, one of the best websites for news about what's happening there and in Syria, Three Hezbollah fighters, 12 Syrian rebels killed in clashes: Three Hezbollah fighters and 12 Syrian rebels were killed in fierce battles near Syria’s border with Lebanon,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 02, 2013 11 Comments

We don't know what or why Israel carried out a secretive bombing mission in Syria earlier this week. Speculation runs from hitting advanced anti-aircraft missiles on their way to Hezbollah, to a biological or chemicals weapons institute, to other unnamed but sufficiently important targets. One thing we...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 07, 2012 10 Comments

Given the news, that could refer to several different issues. But I mean it with regard to Syria, where almost everyone seems to view Assad's days are numbered, but no one seems to be sure how many days.  With Iran and Hezbollah at this side, Assad...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 03, 2012 3 Comments

It has been much discussed since the beginning of the uprising. There have been reports of suspicious activity at chemical weapons sites, but who knows what it real and not real. One thing is for sure, chemical weapons cannot save Assad.  The second he uses chemical weapons...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 26, 2012 7 Comments

Gaza! Egypt! Actually, the heavy fighting is in Syria, and it is not looking good for Assad (still). Syrian rebels reportedly seize major dam in north Syrian Rebels Seize Military Base Syrian rebels destroy Assad’s radar station facing Israel Syrian rebels struggle to keep regime Air Force on the ground Don't...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 18, 2012 4 Comments

In late June I noted that something seemed to have changed in Syria, that the threat to the Assad regime seemed more real than ever. A massive explosion in Syria confirms that indeed things have changed.  The Syrian defense minister and a brother-in-law of Bashar Assad...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 05, 2012 12 Comments

Some flee the sinking ship.  Via Times of Israel: Manaf Tlas, one of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s closest friends and most trusted military colleagues, who is also the son of the Assad regime’s former long-serving defense minister, has defected from the Assad regime and fled to...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 27, 2012 16 Comments

There seems to be a change in Syria, a worsening of the situation for Assad. I can't tell if this is the turning point, a turning point, or just a bump in Assad's road to staying in power with the military help of Iran, Hezbollah...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 20, 2012 13 Comments

With so much going on in the domestic political arena, it's easy for attention to get distracted from the Iranian-Hezollah-Russian attempt to keep Bashar Assad in power. Other than when there is a heavy one-day body count, Syria is not in the U.S. news media radar. This...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 15, 2012 15 Comments

Not the destruction in September 2007 of the nuke facility likely being built with the help of the Norks. Via Jerusalem Post, a story I had not heard before, Syria’s chemical weapons program has been focus of Israeli intelligence operations since the mid-1970s. It was July 2007...

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