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Syria Books |
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Islam Books |
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Middle East Books |
The situation in Syria is deteriorating rapidly as the fighting has intensified in urban areas, which are key to the regime’s survival and to the opposition’s progress. The death rate has spiraled upward as has the flow of refugees out of Syria. Neighboring states are beginning to become overwhelmed by the torrent of human misery [...]
Assad forces accused of massacre in Damascus suburb – aljazeera “The Assad forces killed them in cold blood,” said Abu Ahmad, 40, a resident of Daraya, where the Syrian government has waged a campaign it described as a “cleansing.” “I saw dozens of dead people, killed by the knives at the end of Kalashnikovs, or [...]
Turkey’s Syria conundrum Sinan Ulgen, 25 Aug 2012, National Interest Syria used to be the poster child for Ankara’s “zero problems with neighbors” policy. At the peak of their rapprochement, Turkey and Syria were holding joint cabinet meetings and talking about spearheading a common market in the Middle East. Then the Arab wave of reforms [...]
Sami Moubayed has just come out with a wonderful book about US policy toward Syria. Forced to flee his beloved Damascus, Sami is now a Visiting Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Beirut. Bravo Sami Syria and the USA: Washington’s Relations with Damascus from Wilson to Eisenhower ‘Syria and the USA is [...]
An Iraq intelligence specialist, who cannot use his name, wrote to disagree with my analysis of “Assad’s Kurdish Strategy,” published two days ago. He writes: Joshua, I was reading your post on Syrian Kurdistan and noted that you judged that the regional Shia will probably support Syrian Kurdish aspirations. I think this will not be [...]
In a press conference that followed a meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil said that all issues can be discussed during direct negotiations with the opposition and even ready to discuss Assad’s resignation. This follows in a long line of offers by the Russians and [...]
Stephen Starr’s new book on Syria is full of startling insights that only someone who has lived and worked there for the last five years could write. It is also a good read. Here is an excerpt. ‘Revolt in Syria: Eye-Witness to the Uprising’ excerpt By Stephen Starr Laila met me at a café in [...]
Assad’s Kurdish Strategy Joshua Landis – Aug 20, 2012 Assad’s Kurdish strategy appears to be to help the PKK to take control of the Kurdish regions of Syria in the North East. His aim is to hurt both the Free Syrian Army and Turkey, which are leading the opposition against him. In general, his strategy [...]
The Original Shabiha Mohammad D. Aug 17, 2012 for Syria Comment Edited by Joshua Landis Who were the first Shabiha? How was the word coined? And how did their numbers spread? The following stories about a few shabiha pioneers are based on my personal experiences in Latakia, Syria in the 1970′s and 1980′s so I [...]
Haaretz: Report: Assad’s brother ‘fighting for his life,’ month after losing both legs in Damascus bomb attack 2012-08-14 – Haartz – By Avi Issacharoff Report: Assad’s brother ‘fighting for his life,’ month after Damascus bomb attack Russian deputy foreign minister tells Saudi newspaper that Maher Assad, commander of the Fourth Armored Division, lost both his [...]
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Director: Center
for Middle East Studies and Associate Professor, University of Oklahoma 405-819-7955 landis@ou.edu |
