“Liberal Interventionists” in Washington had hoped, last March, that the decision by the U.S., Britain and France to launch U.N.authorized military action in Libya represented a new Western willingness to protect civilians under threat by their own regimes. The paralysis of the same governments and the wider international community …
Syria
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 …
Closer to Closure, but Closer to Crisis? Lebanon’s Special Tribunal Names Names
Who killed Rafik Hariri? Today Lebanon got one step closer to answering a question that has plagued this war-wracked nation ever since the 2005 Valentine’s Day truck bombing that killed the country’s prime minister in downtown Beirut. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the UN-backed body investigating the assassination, delivered …
A Talking Cure for Syria’s Pain? A British MP and a U.S. Congressman Visit Assad
“Visits to Syria have become a vexed issue. Reacting to a visit to Syria by U.S. senators in December, a White House spokesman said that ‘you can take a tough line all you want but the Syrians have already won a PR victory’ simply because visits give ‘legitimacy to a government that undermines the cause of democracy in the …
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 …
World Refugee Day: Three Things You Must Know
Today marks 60 years since the founding of the UN refugee agency. Initially tasked with assisting 2.1 million Europeans displaced by World War II, it now works in 120 countries and is charged with helping millions more. In a cover story for TIME last year, Krista Mahr reported that the system is over-stretched and under-funded. The …
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 …
Never Mind Political Risk, Who Can Afford a Syria Intervention?
There are many reasons why Western military action in Syria remains unlikely despite the Assad regime’s sustained brutality against its opponents, and the burgeoning refugee crisis along the Turkish border. For one thing, Western powers remain fearful of the consequences of toppling President Bashar al-Assad in what is fast evolving into …
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 …
Syria Braces for a New Massacre, But Don’t Expect the West to Do Another Libya
If Syria’s showdown between the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and his opponents was following the trajectory of Libya’s struggle against Muammar Gaddafi, this could be the moment that a U.N. no-fly zone became a matter of urgency. Syrian authorities reported on Monday that armed groups in the town of Jisr al-Shoghour in the north …
Bring Your Family: The Secrets of a Hizballah Arms Smuggler
The illicit arms business is booming in Lebanon today, as my colleague Nicholas Blanford pointed out in a story a few days ago.
And while Hezbollah arms dealer Abu Jihad claims that he doesn’t sell weapons to the Syrian opposition, since it would be akin to arming his enemies, he does allow that many Syrians are stocking up for …