Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
Revolt against Assad is also being fought through satire and cultural resistance. River running through Damascus was dyed red. Sound systems get hidden in ministries and municipal buildings to play revolutionary songs
Involve Putin. He persuades Assad to accept asylum, asserts Russian influence on world stage, is allowed to take the credit for resolving problem. Give him another carrot or two (European missile defence?) and it just might work
NGO report documenting summary executions carried out by Syrian security forces and pro-government militias. Based on interviews with witnesses. And probably covering only a fraction of those killed (PDF)
"What went wrong for the advocates of regime change? In general, they overplayed their hand and believed too much of their own propaganda. What succeeds in one country proves a recipe for disaster in another"
In Egypt, Mubarak ruled through a coalition of elites, fluid enough for a managed transition. In Syria, power is monolithic, concentrated in the Alawite minority, which finds itself fighting for survival, and will lose
What are Alawites opposed to the Assad regime to do? Some take part in the opposition anonymously, others openly. For many others, the bottom line is fear of anti-Alawite sectarian reprisals if Assad falls
Ex-Mossad boss casts baleful eye back on Libyan intervention. Are Libyans any better off? West should have kept powder dry, and nurtured alliances with Russia and China. Struggles in Syria and Iran are much more vital
"Bearing witness to a country falling apart is a sobering experience." The exemplary fate of Homs has kept Damascus subdued. But Assad can't last. If only because his government will soon run out of money to pay its soldiers
Excellent analysis of Syrian crisis. "There is less a conspiracy in Syria than a society on the move, headed along a path that the regime simply will not follow." May lead to civil war, but for many Syrians there is no going back
Photo gallery with awful scenes from Syrian city, where the people are under bombardment from their own government. Rubbish piles up in the streets, cars are burned out, children play with shell and rocket fragments
Deeply troubling assessment from reporter recently back from two-month assignment. Regime can survive for a long time. "Syria is crumbling before our eyes, and a thoroughly modern nation is likely to be set back many decades"
Commentary on complexity of developing policy on Syria. Arming the opposition is problematic, and possibly counterproductive. Scenarios of power vacuums, sectarian warfare must be considered. Pity the poor residents of Homs
