In The News

AFP: Chemical Inspectors Enter Syria’s Douma

April 17, 2018
A team of investigators with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons landed in Syria to examine the reported April 7 gas attack near Damascus, but delays block them from entering the neighborhood. The United States, France and Britain had already launched missile strikes on military sites. French President Emmanuel Macron admitted that missile strikes will do little in protecting...

New York Times: Attack in Syria, a World of Potential Risks

Ben Hubbard April 14, 2018
The United States, France and British launched airstrikes outside Damascus with the goal of reducing the Syria’s chemical weapons capacity. The strikes pose a “risk of drawing the United States even more deeply into a conflict in which Russia and Iran… have more invested than ever in keeping President Bashar al-Assad in power.” Russia called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting. Syria...

BBC News: Chemical Attack in Syria

April 9, 2018
More than 40 Syrians including children were reported dead after a chemical weapons attack in Douma, a town once held by Syrian rebels. International investigators cannot enter the area besieged by war. Syria’s brutal regime, supported by Russia, has focused attacks on areas once held by rebels where evacuations of fighters and family members are underway, reports BBC News. Russia offers no...

Huffington Post: $1 Billion Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia

Nick Visser and Nick Robins-Early March 30, 2018
The Trump administration plans to approve a $1 billion dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia, including “around 6,700 anti-tank missiles and $300 million in parts for the Saudis’ helicopters and tanks,” explains the US State Department. The deal is controversial due to the ongoing Saudi role in Yemen’s civil war. Since March 2015, the Saudi state has carried out lethal airstrike campaigns as part of...

Spiegel: EU Helped Fortify Turkey's Border

Maximilian Popp March 29, 2018
The European Union has funded Turkey to block Syrians fleeing the brutal war. “In March 2016, the EU and Ankara closed a deal under which the Europeans would pay 3 billion euros to Turkey if the country kept the refugees inside its borders,” writes Maximilian Popp for Spiegel Online. The funding contributes to harsh security measures from Turkey including a border wall, deportations, surveillance...

NPR: Syrian War Enters 8th Year

Colin Dwyer March 16, 2018
With Russia’s help, the Assad regime slowly crushes multiple opposition groups. Seven years of war have been hard on civilians, leaving up to 500,000 people dead, more than half the population displaced, and government and militia forces accused of war crimes by the Human Rights Council. “For weeks the Syrian government has been bombarding the suburbs with shelling and airstrikes, aiming to...

The Atlantic: “CNN Effect” Dies in Syria

Uri Friedman March 1, 2018
Broadcasts of atrocities can prompt government action. While research has not confirmed a positive link, analysts suggest that 1990s reporting from Iraq, Somalia and Bosnia contributed to public expectations for US intervention. Despite an abundance of real-time reporting, the CNN effect may be a mirage for Syria: “the Syrian government’s relentless bombardment of the besieged rebel enclave of...