Topic: Ba'ath Party

Top galleries, list articles, quizzes

Who's who in Iraq after the US exit?

The next year is probably going to be the most crucial for determining the future of Iraq since the US-led invasion of 2003. Here are a few of the major players.
Five ways 9/11 has transformed the US military

The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, fundamentally transformed the way the United States military wages war, forcing the Pentagon to rethink some of its basic tenets. Here are the Top 5 changes since 9/11.
Seven reasons why Syrian opposition hasn't toppled Assad

Physical repression isn't the only reason Syrian protesters have suffered serious setbacks. Middle East expert Bilal Y. Saab of The University of Maryland gives us seven other factors that explain why things might get worse before they get better for the Syrian opposition in its quest to topple Assad.
Syria 101: 4 attributes of Assad's authoritarian regime

How have authoritarian regimes remained in control so long in the Middle East? In Syria's case, a critical factor is the concentration of power in a single family, political party, and religious sect.
Tariq Aziz and Iraq's most-wanted deck of cards: where are the aces and kings now?

Top Saddam Hussein aide Tariq Aziz, sentenced to hang Tuesday, was one of 55 people featured in the notorious decks of playing cards handed out to American forces when they invaded Iraq. The cards featured the most-wanted members of Sadaam’s government. Aziz’s sentencing warrants a look at where those aces and kings are today.

All Content

Syria holds an election despite months of fighting

The election is the first multiparty poll since Syria's new constitution was adopted in February. But early voting appeared thin as the opposition refused to participate.
Syrian forces kill teenager in another Aleppo attack, reports say

One day after a raid on a local college campus resulted in four deaths, Syrian forces fired on a large group of protesters in Aleppo Friday.
Four dead after attack on Syrian anti-government student protesters

Reports say fellow students who backed the Assad regime joined forces with Syrian security to assault those involved in a protest march on a college campus in Aleppo.
Syrian uprising shifts toward suicide bombings. Al Qaeda's handiwork? (+video)

Today's suicide bombings in Syria's Idlib province come just three days after a suicide bombing in Damascus claimed by a salafi jihadist organization.
Backchannels
The hawkish bits of VP hopeful Marco Rubio's foreign policy speech

Senator Marco Rubio's foreign policy speech yesterday, taken by many as part of a campaign to be Mitt Romney's running mate, points to a politician who favors foreign interventions.
Backchannels
After Formula One scrutiny, Bahrain hires a fan of Saddam Hussein to improve its image

Well, nothing else is working.
Syria's deputy oil minister defects to protest Assad crackdown

Abdo Husameddine's announcement came one day after the top US general said President Barack Obama has asked for a preliminary review of military options in Syria, as the conflict grows increasingly dire.
Under siege, a Syrian town struggles to keep going

Syrian troops have blockaded the town of Qusair for about six months. The conflict between local fighters and Assad's forces surrounding the town is taking a growing toll.
Backchannels
Ominous signs in Homs amid reports that Syrian tanks are rolling in

Following yesterday's reports of the Syrian government's massacre of civilians seeking to flee the assault on Homs, a large armored column appears to be closing on the city.
Backchannels
Syria approves new Constitution as dozens murdered in Homs

The mounting death toll in Homs and other Syrian cities is far more important than a referendum the Syrian government says showed overwhelmingly public support for a new constitution.
Syria vote called a 'farce' by West

Syria heads to the polls today to vote on a new constitution, a move by embattled President Bashar al-Assad to defuse an uprising.
How Syria's Assad plans to survive

Despite promises of a referendum next week on a new constitution, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime seems to have made a clear decision to base its survival on repression.
Twin explosions rock security HQs in Syrian city Aleppo

The blasts come as escalating violence between regime forces and an increasingly militarized opposition has raised fears the conflict is spiraling toward civil war.
Iraq's Maliki accused of jailing, torturing opponents

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was accused by former prime minister and rival Ayad Allawi of using the security services to torture members of opposition groups into giving false confessions.
Syria ready to let monitors stay, rebel commander calls for help from UN

Damascus opposes broadening the scope of the Arab League observer mission, the source at the League said, but would accept a one-month extension of its mandate which expires on Thursday.
Is Al Qaeda actually involved in the Syria uprising?

Embattled President Bashar al-Assad is blaming Al Qaeda and its affiliates for a spate of suicide bombings around Syria's capital, but analysts are skeptical.
Backchannels
In Syria, peaceful protests – but also signs of growing violence (+videos)

The battle for Syria is getting messier. Today, large crowds turned out to call for the fall of Assad's regime. But a Damascus blast killed at least 25 – a sign of how complex the uprising may become.
Terrorism & Security
Iraq bombings, political crisis raise concerns of renewed civil war

Bombings in Iraq targeted two Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad today. The violence, coming amid a Sunni-Shiite political crisis, threatens to inflame the tensions that led to civil war in 2006-07.
Backchannels
Middle East in 2012? Egypt and Iran and Syria and... oh, my.

Last year was momentous, but the region may just be getting warmed up.
Global News Blog
2011 Reflections: Suddenly, a new era in the Middle East

Seven Monitor correspondents reflect on the world's hot spots. In this installment, Dan Murphy says that if you'd told him in 2008 that Mubarak would be gone today, he'd have laughed out loud.
Who's who in Iraq after the US exit?

The next year is probably going to be the most crucial for determining the future of Iraq since the US-led invasion of 2003. Here are a few of the major players.
Backchannels
Iraq's Sunni-Shiite tensions have long been building

A trawl through US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks this year shows growing alarm over Iraq's political divides.
Backchannels
With US gone, Iraq's Maliki is setting the board for a power grab

Iraq's Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has wasted little time since the US departure, with politically motivated terrorism charges against his Sunni vice president and moves to oust other opponents from the government.
Backchannels
Could Iraq descend into a civil war again? (VIDEO)

The scars of Iraq's painful bloodletting are deep, and a powerful disincentive against a return to open warfare. But Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is moving against Sunni Arabs, his political enemies.
Backchannels
As US Ambassador Ford returns, Syria deteriorates

US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford is returning to Damascus, as the death toll surges and Syria lurches ever closer to civil war.