updated Sat. March 23, 2024
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War on the Rocks
April 24, 2018
A special dispatch from France: On Friday, April 13, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France launched punitive strikes on Syria following the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons. Managing Editor Usha Sahay spoke with Bruno Tertrais, deputy director of the Foundation for StrategicÃâà...
NPR
April 24, 2018
How many attacks are there on health care facilities in Syria? Dr. Rohini Haar, a public health researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, led a team that collected ground reports of attacks in 2016 in northern Syria, filed by civilians via cellphone text. Haar wanted to find out if human rightsÃâà...
Vox
April 24, 2018
President Donald Trump held a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday afternoon. Soon after the presser began, a reporter asked Trump about his musings on withdrawing US ground troops from Syria — a point he and Macron had discussed in private before.
New York Times
April 24, 2018
WASHINGTON — The United States-led air campaign to hunt down the last pockets of Islamic State militants in eastern Syria has effectively ground to a halt in the past two months after the allies lost their most effective battleground partner, stalling a critical phase of the offensive. With Islamic State fightersÃâà...
New Statesman
April 24, 2018
In the last few weeks, as the world has been reminded of the ongoing war in Syria, much has been made of supporters of Bashar al-Assad on the political fringes: the academics spreading conspiracy theories, war crimes denial and misinformation on social media, and a video of a rather bewildered lookingÃâà...
The Independent
April 24, 2018
Western countries are reportedly planning to bypass Russia's veto at the UN security council over Syria by referring concerns about the suspected use of chemical weapons to the UN general assembly. Russia has used its veto 12 times to block UN action targeting the regime of its ally, Bashar al-Assad,Ãâà...
The Independent
April 24, 2018
Britain will ramp up its aid to Syria over the coming two years, the Government is expected to announce on Wednesday, at an EU-UN organised summit in Brussels aimed at finding a way to end the conflict in the war-torn country. The Government will commit to providing Ãâã450 million for Syria and the regionÃâà...
NPR
April 23, 2018
We're about to hear the voice of a victim from the suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria earlier this month. This is the attack that prompted U.S. airstrikes. Victims have now made their way to refugee camps in remote parts of Syria. And NPR's Ruth Sherlock went into the country after getting rareÃâà...
Brookings Institution (blog)
April 23, 2018
These leaders were concerned that this time, unlike last April, there may be a heavier price tag—while in fact, there was not. Leaders of Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah, quickly replaced such warnings with expressions of satisfaction—Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, for one, explicitly said the attack wasÃâà...
Aljazeera.com
April 21, 2018
According to Action Group for Palestinians in Syria, a London-based watchdog that documents human rights violations, at least four Palestinian refugees, including a member of Syria's Civil Defense, were killed in Saturday's attacks. In total, at least six Palestinians lost their lives in the government-led raidsÃâà...
The Independent
April 21, 2018
International chemical weapons inspectors are on their way to the site of an alleged gas attack in the Syrian town of Douma, Russia has said. The Russian foreign ministry said a special commission from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) set out this morning.
BBC News
April 21, 2018
Sweden's deputy UN ambassador Carl Skau said the idea was "to recreate dialogue" and "relaunch momentum" with "humility and patience", a week after the air strikes by France, the UK and the US against Syria in retaliation for an alleged chemical attack in Douma. "It's important for the council's credibility," Mr Skau toldÃâà...
The Economist (blog)
April 21, 2018
But reactions to the ongoing misery in Syria, and to Western intervention in that country, have been entirely different. Secular leftists in the West, who in general oppose any use of force by their governments, were instinctively horrified by the assault on Syria unleashed on April 14th by America, Britain andÃâà...
The National Interest Online
April 21, 2018
After last Saturday morning's strike in Syria, benign processions of Western military hardware are now the last thing on anyone's mind. The combined forces of the United States, UK and France launched over one hundred missiles at targets connected to President Bashar al-Assad's chemical weaponsÃâà...
Business Insider
April 20, 2018
Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham is a union of five Islamist organizations based primarily in the northwestern region of Syria that wants to overthrow Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and replace him with Sharia law. The group has fought ISIS and the Syrian government, and has flourished as the focus of the US-led coalition and theÃâà...
Los Angeles Times
April 20, 2018
A member of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces at a prison in Raqqa, Syria. (Asmaa Waguih / Associated Press). Trying to find its way out of a legal thicket, the Trump administration wants to send to Saudi Arabia a U.S. citizen who was captured on the battlefield in Syria last fall and is suspected ofÃâà...
TIME
April 20, 2018
U.S.-backed forces in Syria have a militant linked to the September 11 terrorist attacks in their custody, according to the Pentagon. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of militias in Syria, captured Mohammed Haydar Zammar a month ago, the Pentagon said Thursday, according to Reuters.
The Guardian
April 20, 2018
The president reportedly told his generals this month that he wanted the roughly 2,000 US soldiers in Syria to wrap up their counter-Isis mission immediately and return home, in line with his pledge at a rally that the withdrawal was imminent. Trump was persuaded to wait a few months longer by USÃâà...
Aljazeera.com
April 20, 2018
"What we are currently seeing is the most serious attempt by hawkish and conservative advisers to get the US directly involved in the Syrian war, an attempt that echoes Israeli concerns about US withdrawal plans from Syria," said Joe Macaron of the Arab Center Washington, DC, further explaining that theÃâà...
The Guardian
April 20, 2018
Suspicion of the use of chemical weapons in Syria, along with the escalation of fighting on several fronts, needs to be taken seriously. Not only because the international community agrees on the prohibition of chemical weapons, but most of all, because of the extensive suffering the attacks and years ofÃâà...
Aljazeera.com
April 20, 2018
Last Saturday, when the United States, the UK and France launched strikes on three chemical facilities in Syria, the move was met with disapproval in some quarters. The pre-announced spectacle blew up three buildings and took no lives, but some pronounced it a "dangerous escalation". Some spoke ofÃâà...
NPR
April 18, 2018
So does that mean the U.S. is at war with Syria? To explore that question, John Nagl joins us. He's a West Point graduate, retired Army officer, combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan and a former president of the Center for a New American Security. Welcome. JOHN NAGL: It's good to be with you, Ari.
CNN
April 18, 2018
Last Friday night, Trump announced that the US -- alongside UK and French allies -- had initiated precision strikes in Syria as a response to an alleged chemical weapons attack against civilians by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Speculation had been building all week around the US response leadingÃâà...
The Guardian
April 18, 2018
The idea of an Arab coalition force playing a role in Syria to combat extremist groups and contain Iranian influence has surfaced several times since 2015, but faces severe problems. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are bogged down in a brutal war in Yemen, and have little manpower and fewÃâà...
The Guardian
April 18, 2018
Three Belgian companies are being prosecuted for exporting chemicals to Syria, one of which could be used in the production of sarin gas. The firms say they acted with the seeming consent of Belgian customs between 2014 and 2016, but were subsequently alleged to have failed to apply for the permitsÃâà...
New York Times
April 18, 2018
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis urged President Trump to get congressional approval before the United States launched airstrikes against Syria last week, but was overruled by Mr. Trump, who wanted a rapid and dramatic response, military and administration officials said. Mr. Trump, theÃâà...
CNN
April 18, 2018
Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump's newly minted national security adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo are among those spearheading a push to build a coalition of Arab military forces that could replace US troops in Syria and serve as a stabilizing force in theÃâà...
CNN
April 18, 2018
... at the time, intelligence officials did not have a full picture of the event, which would have included intercepts of conversations and verified paths that helicopters flew, officials said. But the reality was that prior to the US strike, full confirmation could not be made of whether Syria had used sarin in its attack.
The Guardian
April 18, 2018
A special joint mission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations (OPCW-UN) was established, charged with disposing of Syria's entire chemical weapons stockpile. It was widely seen as the largest stockpile in the world and had been in development since the 70s.
BBC News
April 17, 2018
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons will be given access to an alleged chemical attack site in Syria on Wednesday, Russia says. Experts arrived in Damascus on Saturday, but they have been unable to visit the nearby town of Douma because of "security issues" cited by Russia.
BBC News
April 14, 2018
President Donald Trump says he has approved US military strikes against Syria, in collaboration with the UK and France. The strikes are in response to an alleged chemical attack on the Syrian town of Douma last week. 1h ago. Share this with Facebook Ãâ÷ Share this with Twitter Ãâ÷ Share this with Messenger Ãâ÷ Share this withÃâà...
9news.com.au
April 14, 2018
US President Donald Trump's announcement of precision strikes in Syria sends an unequivocal message to the Assad regime, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says. President Trump announced a combined operation with Britain and France on Saturday to target Syrian President Bashar al-Assad'sÃâà...
Vox
April 14, 2018
The United States, along with with Britain and France, just bombed Syria. It's the second time the US has waded into the country's seven-year conflict in response to a chemical weapons attack. The allies hit three targets — including in the capital of Damascus — all related to Syria's chemical program: aÃâà...
The Guardian
April 14, 2018
Announcing the launching of the action in a seven-minute speech, President Donald Trump said the US was prepared to sustain economic, diplomatic and military pressure on Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, until he ends what he called the criminal pattern of killing his own people with chemicalÃâà...
CBC.ca
April 14, 2018
The United States, France and Britain fired more than 100 missiles at Syria late Friday in what the Pentagon is calling a "one-time shot," following evidence that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was responsible for a chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians last weekend using at least chlorine gas.
New York Times
April 14, 2018
One immediate question was whether the strikes could actually accomplish the stated goal of diminishing Syria's capacity to make and use chemical weapons. But the new strikes also posed the risk of drawing the United States even more deeply into a conflict in which Russia and Iran — who warned Mr.
New Statesman
April 12, 2018
Kurds dominated the north-east of Syria, while broader parts of the east had fallen to Islamic State. Meanwhile, an alphabet soup of various militias – jihadist and otherwise – rampaged across northern and southern parts of the country. Assad's meaningful control only really extended across a small sliver ofÃâà...
CNBC
April 12, 2018
President Donald Trump warned Russia about a possible missile strike on Syria in a Twitter post on Wednesday. Minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's March meeting reflected that policymakers expected inflation to rise. Global benchmark Brent touched its highest levels in more than threeÃâà...
CNN
April 12, 2018
Northern Syria (CNN) Only twice before has the use of chemical weapons brought to Syria the threat or reality of US strikes -- in Ghouta in 2013, and in Khan Sheikhoun in 2017. Both occasions involved the alleged use of sarin gas, a nerve agent banned under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention.
CNBC
April 12, 2018
In response to a suspected chemical attack in Syria, Trump tweeted on Wednesday that missiles "will be coming" and Russia should "get ready." Trump is ... She said. Trump held Russia and Syria responsible for the chemical attack and denied that his Twitter comments had created any problem.
New York Times
April 12, 2018
The United States military has had to deconflict airspace with Russian fighter jets in Syria. And American troops have crossed paths with Russian mercenaries and Iranian-backed militias, including a pitched battle in February and on the Iraqi border last spring. And in June, a United States military jet shotÃâà...
New York Times
April 12, 2018
The latest salvo in the seven-year war in Syria, an apparent chemical attack in the suburb of Douma at dusk on Saturday, has presented a new challenge to a Trump administration that has vowed to strongly respond. But much is still unclear or unconfirmed about the attack, including what action the UnitedÃâà...
CBS News
April 12, 2018
WASHINGTON -- Long after the Cold War, the world is again worried about the risk of a military confrontation between the U.S. and Russia. At the center of the conflict is the apparent chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime in Syria, Russia's ally. As President Trump considers a response, he tweeted,Ãâà...
The Nation.
April 12, 2018
Even before their current standoff over Syria, tensions between the United States and Russia were already at their highest point in years. Now an alleged chemical weapons attack in a country where both are militarily involved has raised the prospect of a “ direct confrontation” between the world's twoÃâà...
The Guardian
April 11, 2018
The World Health Organization has said an estimated 500 people went to health facilities with “signs and symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic chemicals” after the attack on the rebel-held town of Douma in Syria at the weekend. “WHO demands immediate unhindered access to the area to provideÃâà...
WJLA
April 11, 2018
Responding to Russian warnings to the U.S. against military strikes in Syria, President Donald Trump said Wednesday that missiles "will be coming" in response to Syria's suspected chemical attack that killed at least 40 people. "Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria," Trump tweeted.
CBS News
April 11, 2018
President Trump has issued another stern warning to Russia for its alleged role in a suspected chemical attack in Syria over the weekend. As the administration prepares a counter response to the latest attack, which appeared to target civilians and young children, Mr. Trump warned in a tweet WednesdayÃâà...
CNN
April 11, 2018
The statement comes one day after the United States and Russia, Syria's key ally, blocked each other's proposals for an independent investigation during a heated UN Security Council meeting. Russian Lt. Gen. Viktor Poznikhir said Wednesday that military police would be sent to Douma on Thursday.
CNN
April 11, 2018
Jerusalem (CNN) Iran vowed to retaliate for the recent attack on a military base in Syria, blaming Israel for the strike. Speaking in Damascus at a two-day conference on Jerusalem Tuesday, a senior advisor to Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ali Akbar Velayati, told Iran' state-run Islamic Republic NewsÃâà...
CNN
April 3, 2018
(CNN) Dealing with some seasonal sniffles in your household? These medications could actually make childhood allergies WORSE. Who knew? Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. (You can also get "5 Things You Need to Know Today" delivered to your inbox daily.
