Topic: Bashar Assad
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Opinion Five guidelines for US role in Syria
The civil war in Syria has reached a stalemate. While strategic military steps like arming the opposition or establishing a no-fly zone present complications, the US can do other things to bring aid, support the opposition, undermine the Assad regime, and counter a rising Islamist influence. Here are five guidelines for the US in addressing the conflict in Syria:
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Briefing Chemical weapons 101: Six facts about sarin and Syria’s stockpile
President Obama said Assad's use of chemical weapons would be a 'red line' for US. Did he use sarin or any other chemical weapon against his own people?
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When dictators fall, so do their banknotes
The following now defunct or possibly soon-to-be defunct banknotes are imbued with the symbols and iconography of their leaders, past and present.
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Not just sexy Kim Jong-un: 5 times the Onion has fooled foreign media
When the People's Daily, the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper, took as straight news The Onion's declaration that stout North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was 2012's "Sexiest Man Alive," it became the biggest foreign media outlet to be fooled by the satirical American newspaper. But it is not the first. Here are several other foreign news sites that took Onion fiction as newsworthy fact.
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War with Iran? 5 ways events overseas could shape Obama's second term.
The threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program is the most urgent example of the foreign-policy challenges that face President Obama in his second term. Here are four others.
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Backchannels Why it's time to call Syria a civil war
A generally accepted definition of civil war is a fight for control of a nation, involving the state, one or more non-state actors, and at least 1,000 battlefield casualties. Sounds like Syria.
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In Algeria, no taste for an uprising of their own
The violence and chaos of Algeria's civil war in the 1990s has left Algerians nervous about echoing the upheavals in other Arab countries – though many would like to strengthen democracy at home.
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Putin's China visit shows warming ties between neighboring giants
The historically tense relationship has warmed in recent years, leading to flourishing bilateral trade. Vladimir Putin will be in Beijing Tuesday to discuss everything from trade, to Iran's nuclear program, to Syria's bloody war.
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How a US strike on Syria might look: cyberwar could play key role
The Pentagon is planning for a military operation in Syria, which could include a cyberattack on its air defenses. But analysts warn that intervention could spark a costly civil war.
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Terrorism & Security Syria likely to overshadow agenda as EU leaders gather in Russia with Putin
The summit is intended to allow EU leaders to reacquaint themselves with President Vladimir Putin, but they are expected to lean on him to take a stronger stand on Syria.
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In Lebanon, a worrying sectarian spillover from Syria
Tripoli, Lebanon witnessed some of the worst sectarian fighting in the country since its civil war ended two decades ago, with Alawite and Sunni communities inflamed by the deepening war across the border in Syria.
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12 men murdered Thursday by pro-Assad gunmen, Syrian activists say
The killing of workers near al-Qusair in western Syria comes a week after the death of over 100 people, including women and children, in Houla.
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Syrian forces and pro-Assad militia could face prosecution for Houla massacre, UN says
Over 100 people were killed in the Syrian town last week. Human rights experts also claim that Syrian authorities ordered the torture of civilians, including children.
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U.S. pressuring Russia over Syria
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta have both made remarks today critical of Russia's role.
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Backchannels You can't say it enough: Syria is really different from Libya
Syria's war is as violent today as at any point of the over year-long conflict, and a UN peace plan spearheaded by Kofi Annan is in tatters. But that doesn't spell military intervention.
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Military intervention in Syria? Germany pushes back hard on French warning.
French President Hollande suggested yesterday that military intervention might be required in Syria. Why that idea resonated particularly negatively in Germany.
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Russia: Give us a good reason to jilt Syria's Assad
One Russian analyst summed up Moscow's resistance by saying, 'We simply don't believe Western leaders know what they're doing, and we're not listening to all that chatter anymore.'
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Terrorism & Security Syrian rebels call for peace plan to be declared a failure
If the Free Syrian Army abandons the peace plan, which they warned yesterday they might do, any vestiges of restraint – on either side – could vanish.
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Boy played dead to survive Syrian massacre
Ali el-Sayed fell to the floor and soaked himself in his brother's blood as gunmen linked to the Assad regime murdered his family.
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More sanctions for Syria as US targets bank
The Treasury Department has targeted the Syria International Islamic Bank, which they say has been acting as a front for Syrian banks trying to get around existing sanctions.
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Backchannels The horror in Syria, the cold realities of international action
Syria's civil war is horrific, with most of the crimes committed by the Assad regime and its supporters. This may lead to moral clarity, but not necessarily to international military action.
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Focus Exclusive: Veteran Lebanese fighter trains new generation of jihadis – for Syria
Longtime fighter Mustapha explains to the first Western reporter to visit his Bekaa Valley orchard camp how he is preparing eager Lebanese to take up arms against the Assad regime.
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Former Liberian leader Charles Taylor sentenced to 50 years in prison (+video)
An international court proceeding ended Wednesday with the sentencing of Taylor, who was convicted of aiding and abetting numerous war crimes in Sierra Leone.
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Terrorism & Security Syria massacre not enough to break UN deadlock over stronger action
Russia's support for a UN Security Council condemnation of this weekend's Syria massacre had raised hopes that Moscow would support stronger action against its ally Assad.
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Syrian massacre: diplomats expelled from Western nations
The US, Britain, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Bulgaria all expelled diplomats in response to revelations that more than a 100 people were brutally killed in Houla, Syria, by Assad strongmen.
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US intervention unlikely in Syria
The administration expelled Syrian diplomats after last weekend's massacre, but ruled out military action.
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US expels Syrian envoy: a clear message whose impact is dubious
Joining with its Western allies, the US ordered Syria's top diplomat in Washington to leave the country to protest a massacre of civilians that included executions.
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Opinion Will Al Qaeda cement its foothold in Syria?
The massacre in Houla, Syria, over the weekend pushed Russia to finally denounce the atrocities there. But Moscow also warned that the regime of Bashar al-Assad faces threats from Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda's future in Syria depends on how Sunnis there respond to foreign jihadi fighters.
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After Houla massacre, Syrian diplomats expelled around the world
France, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Australia are expelling Syrian diplomatic envoys. The response to the Houla civilian massacre is increasing Syria's isolation.
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Terrorism & Security After massacre in Syria, Annan travels to Damascus to push peace plan
Kofi Annan's visit follows a massacre in Houla, Syria, that left 108 dead, most of them 'summarily executed,' according to the United Nations.
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