Russia and Iran continue to be the external mainstays of the Syrian government and in spite of Western reports to the contrary, can be expected to continue their backing.Both Moscow and Tehran have reasserted regional influence thanks to the conflict in Syria and Iraq.Before the

A battered but stoic Damascus stands proud in spite of the war that has ravaged the country.The city and its people have weathered nearly five years of conflict, but remain themselves: generally kind and helpful.

Increased Western deployment of warplanes, ships and men to this region to counter Daesh is unlikely to be successful unless someone comes up with a strategy.

Russia has targeted Turkey with punitive sanctions in retaliation for the shooting down, on November 24, of a Russian warplane that spent 17 seconds in Turkish airspace while on a mission in the campaign against taqfiris in Syria.The sanctions, set to be imposed over the next mon

Photos of Paris street memorials for the 132 people killed by Daesh on November 13 show flowers, pictures of victims, drawings, and, even, a bottle of red wine.The refrain adopted by mourning Parisians is: “They want to destroy our way of life.”A life  filled with visits to

It is clear from heavy French airstrikes on strategic Daesh targets in Raqqa and a US hit on 119 Daesh oil tankers that until the cult slew 129 people in Paris, the policy of the US-led coalition towards Daesh was containment rather than elimination.In fact, the policy can be cat

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington did not heal the rift with President Barack Obama over peacemaking with Palestinians or the Iranian nuclear agreement. But the two men met the press before a White House fireplace in order to project the notion

The victory of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sunday’s parliamentary elections is bad news for Turkey, this region and the international community.This win is bad news for Turkey because in five months, the AKP managed to capt

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu eagerly trumpeted the false accusation that Palestine’s Grand Mufti Haj Amin Al Husseini convinced Germany’s Adolf Hitler to adopt the “Final Solution” envisaging the extermination of Europe’s Jews, Netanyahu did not dare to mention