Time for a Geneva II reality check: There are more than two sides to the new chessboard

Time for a Geneva II reality check: There are more than two sides to the new chessboard

Special to WorldTribune.com By Yossef Bodansky, Senior Editor, Global Information System / Defense & Foreign Affairs In the so-called “Geneva II” round of talks underway (in Montreux, Switzerland, not Geneva) during late January 2014, on the conflict in Syria, Syrian opposition chief Ahmed Jarba has kept demanding, in the name of the international community, the […]

Another mind-numbing precedent: Obama arms Al Qaida with U.S. weapons

Another mind-numbing precedent: Obama arms Al Qaida with U.S. weapons

Jeffrey T. Kuhner President Obama has crossed a moral red line. Recently, he did the unthinkable: He announced that the U.S. government would directly arm terrorist groups in Syria. Mr. Obama said that he would waive a federal law designed to prevent weapons from being sent to designated-terrorist organizations. In particular, the president cited a […]

As West blinks on Syria, jihadists begin revenge attacks on civilian population

As West blinks on Syria, jihadists begin revenge attacks on civilian population

Special to WorldTribune.com By Yossef Bodansky, Senior Editor, Global Information System /Defense & Foreign Affairs The military and political dynamic in and around Syria continued to escalate since late in the week ending Sept. 14, and more so in the days after that (Sept. 15/16) with the Syrian military clearly having the initiative and the […]

Report: Many Syrians have dropped out of the revolution after Assad offensive

Report: Many Syrians have dropped out of the revolution after Assad offensive

Special to WorldTribune.com LONDON — After more than two years of civil war, much of Syria has refused to become drawn into the violence between the regime of President Bashar Assad and Sunni rebels, a report said. The International Crisis Group asserted that much if not most of Syria has dropped out of the Sunni […]

Syrian endgame: Diplomacy, for once, may be the only option

Syrian endgame: Diplomacy, for once, may be the only option

John J. Metzler PARIS — Spiraling sectarian violence, expanding regional destabilization, and the looming danger of proxy conflict between the United States and Russia, are among the dangers in the widening Syrian civil conflict which has taken over 93,000 lives. Equally an escalating humanitarian disaster continues to engulf a country where now approximately a third […]

What will Obama, the ‘peace candidate’, do about Syria?

What will Obama, the ‘peace candidate’, do about Syria?

John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Has Syria crossed the “red line” which the Obama administration warned about should there be any use of chemical weapons in the conflict? Yes, No, Maybe so. But even if there was an apparently limited albeit brutal use of the nerve agents, does this automatically justify the “game changer” […]

The coming struggle for Iraq in the ongoing Iran-Saudi regional war

The coming struggle for Iraq in the ongoing Iran-Saudi regional war

Special to WorldTribune.com By Brian M Downing Events in Iraq have been overshadowed by the Arab Spring and the Iranian nuclear crisis, but Sunni-Shia conflict there is worsening. Sunni Iraqis are increasingly vocal in their demand for fuller participation in national affairs, which they see as unjustly dominated by Shias. Bombings of Shia targets have […]

Syria’s regular Army nears the breaking point

Syria’s regular Army nears the breaking point

Special to WorldTribune.com By Brian M. Downing, FreePressers.com Recent fighting in Damascus and Aleppo has differed markedly from that of only a couple of months ago when the regular army swiftly defeated rebel enclaves in Homs, Idlib, and Deraa. Fighting in Damascus has persisted for several weeks now and while it trails off at times, […]

Iran training IRGC-type militia to secure Assad regime, U.S. reports

Iran training IRGC-type militia to secure Assad regime, U.S. reports

Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — Iran has been developing a militia loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad. Officials said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was providing training and weapons to an unidentified militia meant to fight the Sunni revolt in urban areas. They said the militia would be similar to IRGC’s Basij, which quelled unrest […]

Report: Hands-off U.S. approach to Syria could lead to ‘terrifying outcomes’

Report: Hands-off U.S. approach to Syria could lead to ‘terrifying outcomes’

Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — Civil war in Syria would endanger U.S. national security, a report said. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy asserted that Washington’s policy against military intervention assured the widening of the civil war in Syria. The institute, in a report by executive director Robert Satloff, raised the prospect that President […]