Russia

Greater Middle East

Tuaregs flee Mali

Bashar Assad arrived in Russia to publicly thank Vladimir Putin for his military support in the ongoing re-conquest of Syria—prominently including the deployment of new missile systems. Undoubtedly discussed behind closed doors was the new "energy cooperation framework agreement" between Moscow and Damascus, under which Russia is to have exclusive rights to exploit oil and gas in Syria. (Photo of Vityaz missile launcher via Wikipedia)

Greater Middle East

Alak Khasutsang, disappeared

In Episode Eight of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg notes the bitter historical irony: In April of 1937, the aerial bombardment of the Spanish town of Guernica by the Nazi Luftwaffe shocked the world. Today, what happened there is a near-daily occurrence in Syria (as well as Yemen and elsewhere around the world), and we are so inured to it that the "anti-war" people are actually on the side of the authors of aerial terror. During the Spanish Civil War, the left heroically opposed Generalissimo Francisco Franco's drive to establish a fascist dictatorship with the aid of German military intervention. Today, it cravenly abets Bashar Assad's drive to re-establish his fascist dictatorship with the aid of Russian military intervention. Even as Russia scrambles to block any investigation into the Douma chemical attack and other war crimes in Syria, "leftists" shamefully echo Russian propaganda denying any responsibility by Assad. Weinberg again urges that any legitimate anti-war position must begin with opposition to the genocidal regime of Bashar Assad, and with solidarity for the Syrian Revolution. Listen on SoundCloud. (Photo of Aleppo ruins from UNHCR)

Greater Middle East

Sit-in at Musayyib power plant

Since the Douma chemical attack terrorized the rebel defenders of Eastern Ghouta enclave into accepting a "surrender deal" and evacuating to Idlib province, the Assad regime and its Russian allies have been preparing a final offensive on the last remaining areas of Syria still under rebel control. These of course include Idlib in the north, the largest rebel-held area. But mounting reports suggest the regime may first focus its firepower on Daraa province in the south, where the Free Syrian Army's Southern Front continues to hold territory. And while the rebel militias that hold Idlib are mostly conservative Islamists, the Southern Front is secular-nationalist in its leadership. (Southern Front logo via Wikipedia)

Greater Middle East

David Venegas Reyes

Just over a year after Trump's air-strikes on an Assad regime airbase in response to a chemical attack, we witness a repeat of this episode—although this time the air-strikes were on wider targets, and carried out in conjunction with British and French forces. In response to last week's chemical attack on Douma in Syria's besieged Eastern Ghouta enclave, missiles and warplanes from the USS Donald Cook in the eastern Mediterranean carried out the first Western strikes on targets around the Damascus area. The targets were chemical warfare and military facilities, with no deaths or civilian casualties yet reported. "Anti-war" hypocrites who were silent during Trump's massive bombardment of civilians in Raqqa and Mosul, silent during the Assad-Purtin destruction of Aleppo, and silent (at best) over the Douma chemical attack, are now protesting air-strikes on Assad's machinery of death. Such "anti-war" depravity is part of the problem. (Image: Syria Solidarity NYC)

Greater Middle East

Ramzi Shahadeh

UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a statement saying he is "deeply concerned" about ongoing air-strikes on Douma in Syria's besieged Eastern Ghouta enclave, noting the "killing of civilians" and "destruction of civilian infrastructure," including hospitals and health facilities. The statement said he is "particularly alarmed by allegations that chemical weapons have been used against civilian populations in Douma." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov responded that no evidence has been found of a chemical weapons attack in Douma. But the Syrian-American Medical Society, which has aid workers on the ground, said more than 500 people were brought to medical centers in Douma with symptoms "indicative of exposure to a chemical agent," including breathing difficulties, bluish skin, mouth foaming, corneal burns and "emission of chlorine-like odor." (Image: Syria Solidarity Campaign)