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Beyond Time to Say Who the Real Terrorists Are

In George Orwell’s book, 1984, the dominant force was able to determine what was true and what was false – hence 2+2=5. Today, those remaining in Gaza, who have survived the intensive bombing of almost all of Gaza’s infrastructure, sniper shootings, and starvation, are hanging onto life by a thread. Yet, it is the Palestinians […]
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Smoldering Syria: Ongoing Security Crisis Undermines the Country’s Future
The fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria last December was so swift and surreal that the initial euphoria lingered both inside and outside the country despite public unrest turning to brutal arrests turning to executions turning to mass murder. These actions of the new Syrian authorities have been described either as efforts to “restore order” […]
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The High Human Cost of Syria Sanctions

On May 13, U.S. President Trump announced he is ordering the removal of sanctions on Syria. Some of the U.S. sanctions can be quickly terminated because they were issued by Executive Order. Other sanctions, including the extremely damaging 2019 “Caesar” sanctions, were imposed by Congressional legislation and may require Congressional action to terminate. The Syrian […]
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Sovereignty

With Trump’s recent tongue-lashing of Zelensky at their meeting in Washington DC, social media is now flooded with anguished cries about Ukraine’s sovereignty and how the U.S. must stand up to Russia’s empire-building invasion. The “consensus” claims Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty cannot be tolerated and must be punished. Respect for sovereignty? Are these well-intentioned […]
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How the West Destroyed Syria
Peter Ford served in the UK Foreign Ministry for many years including being UK Ambassador to Bahrein (1999-2003) and then Syria (2003-2006). Following that, he was representative to the Arab world for the Commissioner General of United Nations Relief and Works Agency. He was interviewed by Rick Stering on Jan 6, 2025. Rick Sterling: Why […]
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Feeding Chaos: Israel Cripples Syria’s Defence
The justifications are always the same. We are moving into territory for security reasons. We are creating a temporary buffer zone from which tactical advantage can be gained against potential dangers. Then, over time, these buffers become strategic fixtures, de facto real estate seizures and annexations. Israel now finds itself in what was a United […]
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From Relative “Peace” to Chaos
Liberals and their Western allies, among the social-imperialist left in the U.S. and Europe, are celebrating the end of the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria after the stunning sweep across the country by so-called “rebels” led by the Al-Qaeda offshoot, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Their celebratory mood is informed by a tragic misunderstanding of […]
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Understanding the World’s Conflagrations: Syria
The melodramatic ending to 13 years of a horrific civil war in Syria had an additional drama. Muhammad al-Jawlani, who served five years in a U.S. prison in Iraq for terrorist activities, and was noted as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under U.S. Department of State Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, led the National Salvation Front […]
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Incomplete Coverage of an Ominous Syrian Situation
When Japan, already considered an enemy of the United States, sent its air force to U.S. territory and bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, the same date on the calendar that former opposition forces of the Iraq government entered Damascus, the U.S. government and media emphasized the more serious situation ─ the U.S. was at […]
