The fighting words from Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, who vowed Tuesday to hold on to power and crush his opponents with “an iron fist”, were optimistically interpreted by some as the bluster of a doomed man. To be sure, the …
Syria
Jordan Allows Hamas to Take Up Residence on Its Soil
In what sure looks like further evidence of diminishing American influence in the Middle East, the country that summarily ejected Hamas a dozen years ago is opening its doors to senior leaders of the group Washington and Israel …
Will Hizballah’s Support for Syria Lead To Its Downfall?
World leaders are often obliged to walk a thin line between national interest and the projection of a state’s moral values. The Arab Spring effectively put an end to the West’s balancing act as Europe and the U.S. were forced …
The Syria Game of Thrones: Turkey vs. Iran vs. the Saudis in Battle to Shape a Rebellion’s Outcome
The Arab League called Wednesday for “urgent measures” to protect Syrian civilians in the face of violent repression by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. But lest anyone take that as an echo of the call that legitimized the NATO-led military operation in Libya, the League’s statement also rejected “all foreign intervention” …
Escalation of Syria’s Conlict Reveals Bashar Assad’s Fear of Ramadan
In her latest article for TIME, Rania Abouzeid investigates the fallout from the latest government offensive on the Syrian city of Hama, which commenced Sunday when army tanks entered residential neighborhoods. Some reports put the two-day death toll as high as 127 people including 95 civilians, as shells continue to fall on the …
Syria: Schisms and Rancor Shape the Contours of a Bloody Conflict
In her most recent TIME article, Rania Abouzeid explains why the chance of a nonviolent resolution to political conflict in Syria is increasingly unlikely: even as embattled President Bashar Assad holds nominal talks with minor opposition groups, tanks remain in the street and his troops continue to mow down unarmed protestors. In the …
Former Mossad Chief Discounts Arab Spring, Welcomes Prospect of a Sunni Syria
Meir Dagan, who until February ran Israel’s overseas intelligence agency for nine pretty successful years, has been making a new name for himself as outspoken retiree. Earlier this month he warned from a Tel Aviv stage that bombing Iran to stop its nuclear program was “a stupid idea,” and suggested that with the recent departure of …
In Chaos-Ravaged Syria, Truth Gets Tossed Out the Window
In two new articles for TIME, Rania Abouzeid touches upon the myths and shifting perspectives of those caught up in the ongoing Syrian conflict. First, she details her quest to confirm reports of mass rapes and sexual assaults in Syria by interviewing refugees in Turkish camps. Although nearly every refugee interviewed was able to relate …
An Exile Among Refugees on the Turkish Border
In a recent story for TIME, Rania Abouzeid tells the story a 61-year old Syrian exile living in southern Turkey who, after leaving the political world of Syria more than 20 years ago, has entered into a new role as a “Father of Knights,” or “Abu al-Forsan” in Arabic. His knights are approximately 70 injured wounded Syrian refugees who he …
Tales of Chaos in Syria
Middle East reporter Rania Abouzeid takes a closer look at the chaos in Syria for TIME in her most recent piece. Through the personal accounts of Syrian refugees in Turkey, Abouzeid strings together more details of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s violent attempts at maintaining order in a fragmenting country. But in addition to stories …
The Syrian Conflict: Confusion Central
The popular uprising against Syria’s brutal regime that appears to be evolving towards full-blown civil war is of course serious business—deadly serious, as the reported 1,110 lives claimed in nearly three months of clashes demonstrate. But it’s also become a major source of head scratching among international observers. Whether …
The Trouble with Non-Violence: A Tale of Two Palestinian Marches
On Sunday, the anniversary of the 1967 defeat of Arab armies that led to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights, the Palestinian efforts at channeling the energies of the so-called “Arab Spring” were on display with varying results.
Television images on Sunday from the Golan Heights village of …
In Syria, Chaos, Confusion and Death
A bloody crackdown on protests in Syria has taken place under an intense media blackout, with foreign journalists barred from the country and struggling to piece together unsubstantiated reports of mass arrests and shootings. The global think tank STRATFOR offers this “Raw Intelligence Report,” a dispatch presumably from a foreigner …