Foreign Policy Blogs

Tag Archives: Syria

Reflections on Cyprus, Iran, Syria, and President Obama’s trip to Israel

Reflections on Cyprus, Iran, Syria, and President Obama’s trip to Israel

On March 22, 2013, WVUM, the student radio of the University of Miami, invited me into its station in order to discuss the mess taking place in Cyprus. Despite talking for almost 15 minutes on the roots of the crisis in Cyprus and the ECB’s ultimatum, I could not resist continuing the discussion on Iran, […]

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A Lesson in Alternative History from Tony Blair

A Lesson in Alternative History from Tony Blair

Although Tony Blair has “long since given up trying to persuade people [that the Iraq War] was the right decision,” he has found a convenient new way to justify it in time for the 10th anniversary of the invasion. According to Blair, since Saddam Hussein was “20 times worse” than Bashar al-Assad, it logically follows […]

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The FPA’s Must Reads (March 1-March 8)

The FPA’s Must Reads (March 1-March 8)

This week: Dennis Rodman hangs out in North Korea, Hugo Chavez dies, America plays out its fiscal drama, and Bashar al-Assad follows in his father’s footsteps.

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Great Decisions 2013: The Intervention Calculation

Great Decisions 2013: The Intervention Calculation

The U.S. conducted airstrikes against Serbian forces in 1994 and 1999, and against Libyan troops in 2011, to reduce threats of genocide and humanitarian disaster. But the sole superpower sat idle in 1994 while hundreds of thousands were slaughtered across Rwanda and bodies floated down river past horrified neighbors. Just what criteria the U.S. has […]

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Will the Turmoil in Egypt lead to Civil War?

Will the Turmoil in Egypt lead to Civil War?

On February 11, 2011, approximately two years ago, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down as the supreme leader of Egypt after a reign that lasted 30 years. His rise to the pinnacle of the country’s power structure came following the 1981 assasination of his predecessor, Anwar Sadat. This was considered the culmination of the Arab […]

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Arming the (Right) Syrian Rebels

Arming the (Right) Syrian Rebels

Next month, March 2013, will mark the second anniversary of the Syrian uprising. This bloody conflict, as I have repeatedly written, has been characterized by the bombing of bread lines, town-wide massacres and burgeoning sectarian attacks. The enormity of the death toll, 70,000 and counting, should elicit shock to even the casual follower of international […]

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Syria Will Not Retaliate Against Israel…Why?

Syria Will Not Retaliate Against Israel…Why?

Last week, Syria was hit by an airstrike, just a few miles from Damascus. Israel has all but taken responsibility (credit?) for the strike. This level of aggression between the two neighboring nations is rare. The two have continued their battles in rhetoric and by proxy since the birth of the Jewish state, but Israel […]

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Israel Strikes Again

Israel Strikes Again

  Yesterday’s strike on a convoy heading from Syria to Lebanon is but one act in an ever constant drama. Israel, for better or for worse, has had a history of violating both the air space and the territorial integrity of neighboring countries. Given that the Jewish State’s geographical location and the fact that it […]

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A Candid Discussion on Iran’s Presidential Elections

A Candid Discussion on Iran’s Presidential Elections

The eleventh Iranian presidential election is scheduled to be held this June. Local council elections will also take place at the same time as presidential elections. To take an analytic look at this year’s Iranian elections from a number of relevant angles, the Foreign Policy Association (FPA) will be discussing the elections with leading observers and […]

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The FPA’s Must Reads from Around the Web (January 18-25)

The FPA’s Must Reads from Around the Web (January 18-25)

Articles From Around the Web   The Force By Jill Lepore The New Yorker Once a country that regarded a large standing army as a form of tyranny, the United State’s has now become one of the largest spenders on defense — and its military spending exceeds all of the nation’s in the world combined. […]

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Mr. Assad, meet Mr. Milosevic….

Mr. Assad, meet Mr. Milosevic….

Bashar Assad, let me introduce you to Slobodan Milosevic. Technically, you cannot shake his hand – at least today. Milosevic died in his cell in The Hague, after the nation that he led into war and ruin emerged to form a tentative democracy. The new Yugoslav leadership traded Milosevic for economic and political benefits with […]

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New Calls for the ICC to Take on Syria

New Calls for the ICC to Take on Syria

As war continues to rage on in Syria with no signs of abating, there are renewed calls for the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute any international crimes they find there. Earlier this month, Switzerland led a group of more than 50 countries appealing to the Security Council for referral of the situation to […]

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Syrian Predictions 2013, Look North

Syrian Predictions 2013, Look North

In my previous two posts I provided what I have come to believe are the most important events and aspects of the Syrian civil war to date. Bashar al-Assad’s country is no more; it has been replaced by a parcelized system. Free Syrian Army (FSA) and jihadist units in the northwest: the commercial hub of […]

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U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Urges Greater Focus on North Korea

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Urges Greater Focus on North Korea

The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has issued statements by High Commissioner Navi Pillay regarding the ongoing human rights crisis in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). While the system of oppression employed by the DPRK is manifest, it remains “one of the worst – but least understood and reported […]

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Yearly Roundup: The Anatomy of the Syrian Conflict (Part 2)

Yearly Roundup: The Anatomy of the Syrian Conflict (Part 2)

  For the first part of this yearly roundup, check here The Anatomy of the Syrian Conflict (Part 1) For my in-depth map of developments during the month of November, a crucial point at which the Free Syrian Army switched to attacking regime soft points in Aleppo and Deir ez Zour governorates in order to […]

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