Apparently, just today, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights–aware that their story is going to come out–distributed this statement to journalists:  “Dear Sir/Madam We would like to apologise for any confusion that you may be currently experiencing with regards to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). We would like to take this opportunity to […]

A dog in Lebanon, an old joke goes, was so hungry, mangy and tired of civil war that he escaped to Syria. To the surprise of the other dogs, he returned a few months later. Seeing him better groomed and fatter than before, they asked whether the Syrians had been good to him. “Very good.” “Did they […]

Washington DC – After almost five decades, when the time came to publicly oppose authoritarian rule in Syria, onewould have thought that it was the rational and decent thing to do. And it is. More than that, it is incumbent on anyonewho cares about Syrians (let us leave “Syria” alone for a moment) to struggle […]

“Rumour” used to have a bad reputation. In Shakespeare’s plays it is assumed that “rumours” mean artful lies and the spreading of detailed but false accounts of victory and defeat. No journalist could credibly tell of massacre, torture and mass arrests, citing “strong rumours” as the sole evidence for the story. Editors at whatever newspaper, […]

Michael Scheuer confirms the United States’ involvement in attempts to overthrow the Syrian regime. He explains Washington’s dilemma in dealing with the Arab Spring and how Washington’s “mindless pursuit of secular democracy” in fact created anarchy and empowered extremist Islamists.    

أراد الرئيس السوري بشار الأسد لخطابه الأخير أن يكون رسالة حزم أمني وانفتاح سياسي. وأراده أيضا تعبيرا عن قوة النظام في وجه الرياح العاتية التي تعصف به من كل حدب وصوب. تزامن ذلك مع تفاقم التهديدات المتبادلة بين إيران والولايات المتحدة، ومع تجاذبات لافتة حول المراقبين العرب. ووصل المشهد إلى نقطة خطيرة مع مقتل الزميل […]

هل تعرفون قصّة طائرات «لايتنينغ»؟ كانت صفقة الـ«لايتنينغ» بين المملكة العربية السعودية وبريطانيا، في أواسط السّتينات من القرن الماضي، أولى صفقات السّلاح الضّخمة بين الخليج والغرب، وباكورة لتعاون طويل بين المملكة وشركات السلاح العالميّة. في تقريرٍ لها عن الموضوع، قالت صحيفة الغارديان إنّ صفقات السلاح الخليجيّة هي ــ وحدها ــ ما أبقى شركة «بريتيش آيروسبايس» […]

A beautiful Syria documentary shot last February by Ruslan Fedotow and edited/color corrected by Artem Yakimov 1920x1080P HD footage shot using a Canon 5D mark2 http://vimeo.com/26598137 From the same artist: “5 minutes of Syria” http://vimeo.com/18017106    

After spending weeks in Syria, Nir Rosen provides his assessment of the Free Syrian Army and popular support for the protests. Free army is mostly armed civilians .. chaotic, no central leadership. The few defecting soldiers defected for sectarian reasons and in solidarity with their family members in Daraa or Hamaa. This is different from […]

After months of intense and feverish coverage of Syria, it is high time that we ask: how bad has the coverage been? How much have we been served as readers by the coverage? To what extent has the Arab (Saudi and Qatari) media converged with Western media? And why do Western media toss out all […]