Articles tagged with: Assad
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Saturday, 25 May, 2013
A View from the Bridge
I have only covered war twice in my life: once in 2006, when I was young and reckless and wanted to experience the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and more recently, in 2013, married with two young kids wanting to find out exactly who these Syrian Islamist brigades were. Both times, preparing for the journey mentally was much harder than actually going in: you cannot help but think about your own mortality. It does not help, of course, when you get reassuring advice from Syrian fighters who seem to...
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Tuesday, 21 May, 2013
Blowing up the Al-Nusra Front
In the past two years, Western media coverage has focused on the growing popularity of Salafist jihadi groups like the Al-Nusra Front (Jabhat Al-Nusra) in Syria. These groups have become both an argument to intervene militarily, as well as a reason to stay out. While this fear has some basis—especially as Al-Qaeda has purportedly announced links with the Al-Nusra Front—it is also colored by post-9/11 counter-insurgency narratives. This has prevented policy makers from situating groups like J...
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Thursday, 16 May, 2013
Driven to Distraction
On May 11, two powerful car bombs ripped through the Turkish town of Reyhanlı on the Syrian border, killing at least 51 people. This was not only the worst cross-border spillo...
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Tuesday, 14 May, 2013
Gulf official urges Russia to stop arming Assad
DOHA/ISTANBUL, Asharq Al-Awsat—Gulf sources have downplayed the recent Russian statements concerning a weapons deal with Syria. A military expert has described reports th...
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Tuesday, 14 May, 2013
Loud and Unclear
The contending Lebanese factions have taken their fight from the streets of Beirut and Tripoli to those of Damascus and Homs. Yet, battling it out elsewhere does not mean that Leba...
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Friday, 3 May, 2013
US Source: State Department or CIA to Serve as Conduit for Arming Syrian Rebels
LONDON, Asharq Al-Awsat—The first shipment of US aid reached the Free Syrian Army (FSA) earlier this week, Asharq Al-Awsat has learnt. Head of the FSA Supreme Military Com...
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Tuesday, 30 Apr, 2013
Tempered Islamism
Turkey became a true multi-party democracy in 1950, and it has been holding free and fair elections ever since. Not counting the four years spent under military leadership followin...
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Thursday, 25 Apr, 2013
Hezbollah Urged to Stop Meddling in Syria
BEIRUT, Asharq Al-Awsat—Hezbollah is under increasing pressure over its support for the under-fire Bashar Al-Assad regime, with many reports claiming that Hezbollah fighters are ...
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Tuesday, 23 Apr, 2013
Holding Hope Hostage
Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim is all thumbs navigating his way around his new iPhone. This modern device contrasts sharply with the traditional cassock he is wearing, ...
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Tuesday, 23 Apr, 2013









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