Posts

It’s make or break for Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, not only on the battlefield

Image
  Credit: Enab Baladi By James M. Dorsey Hi and welcome. if you appreciate this type of content, consider upgrading to a paid subscription, to help ensure that independent journalism and analysis survive. Without your support this kind of hard-hitting, fact-based analysis would not be possible.   To watch a video version of this story   or   listen to an audio podcast click  here.     Thank you for your support and loyalty.    A week into a rebel offensive, Syria is the potential fulcrum of a tectonic reordering of Middle Eastern geopolitics with President Bashar al-Assad as a key player. That is if Mr. Al-Assad is willing to play ball this time around. An earlier Gulf attempt to drive a wedge between the Syrian leader and Iran by returning Syria to the Arab and Muslim fold failed because sweeping US sanctions prevented wealthy Arab states from investing in the reconstruction of Syria’s war-ravaged economy. The move restored Syrian memb...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ceasefire brings Lebanon’s chicken home to roost

Image
  Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati arrives in Riyadh in November 2024 to attend a summit of Arab and Muslim leaders. Credit: SPA By James M. Dorsey Hi and welcome. if you appreciate this type of content, consider upgrading to a paid subscription, to help ensure that independent journalism and analysis survive. Without your support this kind of hard-hitting, fact-based analysis would not be possible.   Subscribing will allow you to read the full text of this article, listen to the podcast, and/or watch the video.   Subscribing will allow you listen to the podcast and/or watch the video.   It will also give you access to the full archive, exclusive posts and polling, and allow you to comment and join debates.   To subscribe, please click here.   It’s the season of gifting. Why not gift a Turbulent World subscription ?   Thank you for your support and loyalty.    Gulf leaders told Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati what they said to Palest...
Post a Comment
Read more

Israeli commander’s West Bank woes spotlight a military tied up in knots

Image
  By James M. Dorsey Hi and welcome. if you appreciate this type of content, consider upgrading to a paid subscription, to help ensure that independent journalism and analysis survive. Without your support this kind of hard-hitting, fact-based analysis would not be possible. To watch a video version of this story   or   listen to an audio podcast click  here.  Thank you for your support and loyalty.  Major General Avi Bluth, the head of Israel’s Central Command, switched roles this weekend. Suddenly, Mr. Bluth, in occupied Hebron to protect Israeli worshippers and settlers during a controversial annual pilgrimage, was not the guardian of vigilante youth but their target . Several dozen protesters, some of them masked, shouted “Traitor” and hurled stones at Israeli troops, including Mr. Bluth and border police. The troops and police were managing tens of thousands of pilgrims, marking the yearly Torah reading of Abraham’s purchase of the Cave ...
Post a Comment
Read more

ICC arrest warrants Netanyahu and Gallant open a Pandora’s Box

Image
  By James M. Dorsey Hi and welcome. if you appreciate this type of content, consider upgrading to a paid subscription, to help ensure that independent journalism and analysis survive. Without your support this kind of hard-hitting, fact-based analysis would not be possible. To watch a video version of this story   or   listen to an audio podcast click  here.  Thank you for your support and loyalty.  An earlier version of this story appeared on Channel News Asia . Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s world just shrunk considerably. An International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza obliges the Court’s 124 members, or two-thirds of the world’s countries, to arrest Mr. Netanyahu on sight. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s world contracted similarly when the Court ordered his arrest in 2023 for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Even so, Mr. Netanyahu and Israel are...
Post a Comment
Read more

Netanyahu and Hamas: A symbiotic relationship that costs Israel dearly

Image
  Associated Press interviews Mousa Abu Marzouk in US detention. Source: YouTube By James M. Dorsey Hi and welcome. if you appreciate this type of content, consider upgrading to a paid subscription, to help ensure that independent journalism and analysis survive. Without your support this kind of hard-hitting, fact-based analysis would not be possible. Subscribing will allow you to listen to the podcast, and/ or watch the video. To subscribe, please click here .   Thank you for your support and loyalty.  Hamas political bureau member Mousa Abu Marzouk knows a thing or two about Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s decades-long support for the group. In fact, Mr. Abu Marzouk is Exhibit A. Thanks to Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Abu Marzouk operates from the luxury of Doha instead of rotting in an Israeli jail since 1996 when Mr. Netanyahu first became prime minister. In a move never adequately justified, Mr. Netanyahu, in his first year in office, dropped a request by his pred...
Post a Comment
Read more