Iraq

Qaedists lose ground in Syria; gain in Iraq

Syrian rebels launched an offensive against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)—just as the Qaeda-inspired army has seized the Iraqi towns of Fallujah and Ramadi.

Greater Middle East

Syria: massacres and hypocrisy

Assad's partisans tout a supposed massacre by jihadists near Damascus, while igonoring the much larger and thoroughly verified one being carried out by the regime in Aleppo.

Greater Middle East

International hunger strike for Syria launched

US activists are fasting in solidarity with Syrian civil resistance figure Qusai Zakarya, who is on hunger strike to protest the siege of over 30 towns by the Assad regime.

Palestine

Gaza and Yarmouk: fearful symmetry

Some aghast at the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are strangely unconcerned with that in Yarmouk, the Damascus refugee camp now besieged by Syrian regime forces.

Greater Middle East

Syria: imperialists keep flipping script

Ex-CIA director Michael Hayden says Bashar Assad is the best option for stability in Syria—while the White House now considers arming jihadist rebels.

Greater Middle East

Lebanon: army seizes strife-torn Tripoli

​Lebanon's government has ordered the coastal city of Tripoli placed under army control amid growing sectarian clashes pitting Sunni residents against Alawites.

Greater Middle East

Israel bombs Syria —again

The Israel Air Force was reportedly responsible for an attack on a military base in the Syrian city of Latakia, targeting a Russian missile shipment bound for Hezbollah.