Tag Archives: Syria

In Syria, Western Illusions Lead to Ill-Advised Action

Posted on March 23, 2013 by jonathanspyer

PJ Media, 23/3: The signs are now unmistakable: both openly and behind the scenes, a major Western effort to bring the Syrian civil war to a close with the defeat of the Assad regime is now underway. This is being … Continue reading →

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The Kurds are for the Kurds

Posted on March 9, 2013 by jonathanspyer

Weekly Standard, 9/3. In northeast Syria, from the border with Iraq to the disputed town of Seri Kaniyah, a de facto Kurdish autonomous region has emerged. The area, known to the Kurds as western Kurdistan, is ruled by the Democratic … Continue reading →

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War over the Ruins

Posted on March 8, 2013 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post, 8/3. The Syrian civil war bursts its banks This week, 48 Syrian soldiers who were reported as having ‘sought refuge’ in Iraq were ambushed and killed on Iraqi soil. At least 9, and possibly as many as 19 … Continue reading →

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A small cautionary tale

Posted on February 25, 2013 by jonathanspyer

The map above was produced by the Relief Web website. Relief Web is a project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The website, according to its homepage, aims to ‘provide reliable disaster and crisis updates … Continue reading →

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Syria’s Kurds end their silence

Posted on February 23, 2013 by jonathanspyer

National Post, 23/2 As the civil war in Syria grinds on, one of the less noticed developments has been the emergence of a de facto Kurdish autonomous area in the country’s north east. Stretching across a chain of towns and … Continue reading →

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Syria’s War within a war

Posted on February 2, 2013 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post, 2/2/13 Clashes between Kurds, Islamist rebels point to increasing fragmentation of Syria A civil war within a civil war has been under way for the last two weeks in the small Syrian-Kurdish border town of Sere Kaniye, in … Continue reading →

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Murders in Paris

Posted on January 20, 2013 by jonathanspyer

PJ Media, 16/1. Three female Kurdish activists were murdered in Paris earlier this month. The execution-style killings took place at a Kurdish information office on the quiet Rue Lafayette, near Paris’s Gare Du Nord. One of the three women, Sakine … Continue reading →

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A Nation Once Again?

Posted on December 28, 2012 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post, 28/12/12 In Syria, the Assad regime’s retreat back to Damascus and the Alawi heartlands in the west of the country has made possible the emergence of a Kurdish autonomous area in the country’s northeast. This area shares a … Continue reading →

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The Revolt of Islam in Syria

Posted on December 15, 2012 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post, 14/12 The United States this week became the latest country to recognize the Syrian National Coalition, formed in Qatar a month ago, as the legitimate leadership of the Syrian opposition. The formation of a joint military council aligned … Continue reading →

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News From the House of Slaughter

Posted on December 1, 2012 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post, 30/11/12 Rebels forge ahead in Syria; but no end to conflict in sight In the large slaughterhouse that Syria has become, a new phase is opening up. The stalemate that held for most of 2012 between the forces … Continue reading →

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