When Syrian rebel forces stormed into Damascus and toppled Bashar al Assad yesterday, sending him fleeing to Moscow, it wasn’t clear how things would shake out, beyond the celebrating of Syrians who had finally unyoked themselves from Assad’s dictatorial rule.
Whoever wins, the women won't be any better off with all of these patriarchs running the show. I wonder how many people will still try to flee the region. It is great that al-Assad is overthrown, but I don't know that there will be good leadership after that. How is good leadership developed in chaotic, repressive countries? It seems difficult to do. I wish the region peace, but not a return to repression.
I am really appreciative of your hopeful narratives of Russia's losses, because it makes me hopeful for Ukraine. If Trump likes winners so much he should be buddies with Zelensky.
Yes, Linda that was exactly my thought. These Muslim men filled now filled with power… How are they going to treat the women? All patriarchal religions seem to focus, primarily on how to control women and our reproductive abilities. Especially the Muslims making women dress head to toe in black covering their hair, just shows how scared these men are of women and our power
Unfortunately we are going in that direction in the US. I am sad for the women of the world who live under regimes or the thumb of oppressive men, and hope they get out.
We saw what happened to the women that fought back in Iran. It was not pretty. We saw what happened to the people that fought back in China and Hong Kong it was not pretty. As for the US, families of the young women need to be fighting with them so we protect them from becoming state forced baby machines. The marching and protesting I did when I was young was not very dangerous compared to what I think young women will be facing. I think they will be killed off in many ways. There are men who hate women, unless they totally bend to their wills. That is the stuff of authoritarian regimes. It is unfortunate that there are often women who join with them for what they seem to perceive is self-preservation.
It’s not Muslims overall. Muslims, just like Christian’s have their more repressive, far right leaders who manage to control and dictate the lives of women. The Koran just like the Bible has been used by malevolent men(usually)as a weapon to oppress rather than to inspire or uplift.
Well the muslim religion is the worse for women...and still my point is it comes from fear - why else oppress women to that point? Fear always leads too violence.
Worse than Christianity and Judaism? By the Islamic calendar, the Muslim world is in the middle of its 15th century. One *could* compare that to where the Christian world was in its 15th century: in the process of emerging from its Dark Ages, during which the wisdom of Greece and Rome was kept alive -- guess where: in the Muslim world, which stretched from Persia to Spain.
But the comparison of the 15th century AH and the 15th century CE is limited because in the 20th century the Western world discovered oil in the Middle East and Arab dreams of self-determination were squelched after WW1 by the imperial ambitions of Britain and France and the economic ambitions of the U.S. and others. Once one knows a little of the history, it becomes difficult to blame everything on "the Muslim religion."
I believe that Trump will do whatever Putin orders. He is, in some way that we don't know, beholden to Putin. I wish it were otherwise but I can't see it.
Great reporting, Lucian. The clearest I've seen about this anywhere. Hard to know how to feel about Israel at this point. If only Netanyahu could be toppled.
Are you the real Sara Davidson? The Loose Change writer? Come on, Sara, it's impossible to have happy feelings about Israel and its ruler and has been for at least a year. We lost our chance to get rid of T, and I'm guessing the Israelis won't be able to get rid of N, either. It's a world of aspiring dictators.
I am so sick of the Israeli/Middle East conflict. It has been going on since before I was alive and it will never end. There will never be a two state solution. I don't understand why the US is so heavily involved with Israel. That conflict will continue forever. Let them work it out. The making of the Israeli state after WWII, which involved taking Palestinian land was always going to be a disaster. To be clear...I hate Hamas but Israel is hardly innocent.
The elephant in the room is Saudi Arabia, the funders and disseminators of Wahhabism - Salafism. They operate the school of terrorists, those who murdered and maimed thousands on 9/11.
The fact that for a long time the two pillars of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East have been Israel and Saudi Arabia should tell you something. The U.S. pretends to value human rights, but here we are backing two apartheid states?
When Israel was granted the right to become a democracy in the region it DID! It was a U N granted free country. The Arab nations attacked and murdered Israeli people. That WAS a n ethnic cleaning
Oh, you mean the regime that bailed out Trump's son in law? That regime? Trump will soon make us the very best of friends. My God! We are in for some terrible times, I'm afraid.
Are you serious? The US (CIA) has intervened all over in the Middle East for many many years. Iran? We got rid of a democratically elected president and put our puppet, the Shah in his place. Then we helped get rid of the Shah and look who's there today. Al Qaeda? Bin Laden's anger was fueled by thousands of US troops stationed in Saudi and other Gulf State countries. ISIS? We can thank Abu Graibe prison for that. Take a look at Lebanon, Jordan and yes, Israel - but our role even before WW2 is part of the ME's history.
Agree with you to a point but if you read ISIS literature, they claim to be unmotivated by injustice (at our misdeeds) but rather they are motivated entirely by Islam and a desire to establish a planetary caliphate.
Yep! And as you note just below, we had to screw around in Iraq. "Destabilizing" (polite word for "blowing apart") Iraq removed a key buffer against Iran -- in case anyone's wondering why Iran has the resources to back Hezbollah et al. And as to the history -- USians tend to think that "ancient history" is whatever happened in our parents' time. The Middle East doesn't think that way.
Come to think of it, the Middle East's view of history has a few things in common with fans of the "Lost Cause" -- you know, the ones who carried the Confederate battle flag into the Capitol on 1/6/21 and are in charge of quite a few Southern states.
Black flaggers have been going at each other and anything they deem a target for circa 15centuries across SWA and beyond. Black flaggers can and do rationalize any violence (religious, political, economic, societal, or cultural).
Those rationalizations are not exclusive to black flaggers. They remain the domain of men, though.
Note: (a) Have an aversion to the word and concept of terrorism. (b) There is much more to a flag than a mere identifying symbol of a nation or group/org. Flags are often the trigger of violence. See college football's planting of a college/university flag on an opponent's field/school symbol. Burning of and stomping upon US flags worldwide. And in battles down through history killing its holder or capturing it was a BFD as is replacing one with one's own. Running flags up the mast of captured vessel, building or dirt. Is often an intentional insult. US mil rarely if ever does that now. They learned the hard way that winning hearts and minds isn't possible by insulting the locals.
It’s all about having eyes and ears in the broader ME; at least that’s how it all began. They could speak the language and could ethnically, fit right in. We have been allies for several generations and until the last few years, there has been no reason to question that alliance. The rise of dictators though makes one wonder about the continued partnership although it’s looking as though it’s too late for reflection.
It’s embarrassing to Jews and Israel to have a ginormous, POS destroying their government and country while murdering thousands. We feel the same way about Netanyahu that millions of anti-trump people feel - disgust and revulsion daily. Two fucking peas in a pod.
Amen! Daughter of Holocaust victims here and I have never bern fond of Bibi. He has been on a mission of revenge against Hamas and Hezbollah since his brother was killed many years ago. Now he seeks kingdom like his bro, DJT.
I suspect that Putin's dimwit orange puppet will keep his distance from all of this, taking credit of course for the victory but avoiding doing anything that might hurt his masters in Moscow.
Yes, a great summary of events. Now what is needed is for the Iranian regime to be toppled the same way and for the Iranian people to be free; and sanctions lifted as they align themselves with the west and cut all Russian ties, Wouldn't that be great!
Lucian, Thank you for clarifying all the dynamics of this ever-changing situation. Most news articles rarely describe the complex dynamics and personalities at play in the Middle East.
Unfortunately, my impression is that within a few days Bibi and Israel will be blamed by legacy media, many world leaders, and anyone else needing a scapegoat for Assad's dictatorship, his fall, whatever chaos ensues in Syria, and probably for the price of eggs in the U.S.
I think the Republicans will continue to hold Biden responsible for the price of eggs. MAGA maggots, never satisfy their appetite for domination or twisting the truth into knots.
Do we need a scapegoat for the fall of Assad? I don't think so. Do we need to know who is responsible for what's happened in Gaza over the past year? The outrageous attacks on Gazan civilians, the starving, the attacks on people supplying food? No, it's Netanyahu and AIPAC, many Israeli soldiers following illegal orders, anyone who supports the state of Israel. I remember when I was young, and the 7 Day War. My husband, who lived with his mother, and had access to a tv, which I didn't, was so admiring of Abba Eban and said how he crushed the Arabs in the General Assembly. But now, even he admits that religious states, no matter what their origin, are evil, and their leaders even more so. Netanyahu belongs before the ICC, and Israeli commanding officers and their followers belong before a war crimes tribunal. Assad? I don't think Israel is responsible for Assad, in any way shape, or form. If you want anyone to blame, look north, towards Russia.
Good analysis about Israel’s strategy and timing over the last few months, but please be clear that Israel suffered unprovoked bombing from hezbollah in Lebanon since October 8, 2023. Israel didn’t ask for or start the war in the north. Fortunately for Israel and the rest of the world, they have won it.
"Al Jazeera reports that Israeli forces have moved past the Golan Heights buffer zone into several small towns in Syria, telling residents that they “do not intend to harm” villagers in the area." Nope. They will give them the same civil rights as any other Palestinian in the occupied territories.
I have a hard time buying any conclusive scenario before we see where the rebels are able to go with their stunning victory. Keeping an eye on news agencies Israel despises, Haaretz and—as Susan Linehan suggests—Aljazeera, will be useful.
Agree. Failed states do not make for good neighbors or peace and prosperity. They are a magnet for mofos of all types. Same w/the absence of a state. 4eg Palestinian state, Kurdish state.
Israel is now boarded by the failed state of Lebanon, the failed state of Syria, the absence of a Palestine/Gaza state, a state hanging on by a couple of threads, Jordan, and the ungoverned area of the Sinai, Egypt. All of which once had a thriving Jewish population. Instability comes with unpredictability.
Bibi et al are short-term thinkers. Israel's continued existence is dependent on long-term solutions for a host of reasons. Number one is the sheer population disparity inside and outside of its borders.
Making an island bigger doesn't protect it from the inevitable rising of the surrounding sea. At best delays it.
Far too many overlook the prevailing sentiment of the entire region (SWA) being treachery. Allegiances can rapidly change across the region because the parties involved seek favor and advantage. All too often view the region solely through American eyes hence focus on the big shiny objects while ignoring all else. Another way of saying how most view other regions/cultures is how they few America's, i.e. to say binary due to our 2party system.
Meanwhile our northern neighbors have 2major parties but are near the top of the list in international affairs including diplomacy. That's due to being clam, polite people who are excellent listens, hence think longer and deeper on international matters. Americans love to talk and love to oversimplify.
Your 2 examples affirm that and can add a list longer than my arm to it. Americans like reducing things down to a person rather than all the components of a nation or region. It explains how America long pursued regime change in one form or another, or elevated someone and backed them. The old change PersonA out and or place PersonB in charge and viola it's fixed.
Specific to Sy since little news makes it into the western press, the fall of Assad appears surprising. Sy was no longer a country outside of Damascus for many a year. Heck, US mil is inside Sy and has been >decade.
Reminds me of Kabul and its central government failed experiment. Same with Havana and Tripoli or Saigon. And here in America w/NYC and DC.
You're right, tecolote42, that Hamas,Hezbollah, and their sponsors have recklessly and ruthlessly attacked and murdered Israeli aid workers, medical personnel, families, and children. Thousands of Israels are still displaced from the October 7 and Hezbollah attacks. It's been an avoidable tragedy, if only those terrorists forces and their sponsors weren't determined to eliminate Israel and kill all Jews.
But that is just the start. The Turks will enter northwest Syria to create a buffer zone , the Kurds will take the northeastern desert rich in oil and gas territory and the Jordanians the south to create a buffer zone against ISIS . Syria will likely collapse to its core of Damascus and the central coast north to Aleppo. It will be viable but not rich or powerful. Exactly as Israel would prefer.
That’s the easy part for Bibi. Their strategic enemy was never Syria but the Mullahs of Iran and the IRG. The Mullahs are, according to the NYT , “ panicked “ and have only two choices : cave in to Bibi and Trump’s demand to permanently destroy their nuclear bomb project. Or rush to create workable nuclear. weapons sufficient to deter an Israel / US attack on their bomb making facilities naked to missile or smart bomb attacks; buried though they may be.
The parties have some time to make a decision. It is reported to take 18 months, give or take, to make a workable nuke from the enriched uranium they already have . Upon that decision rests real serous war. Or, in the alternative Israel could covertly organize a regime change by igniting a popular revolt supported by the Iranian Army which hates the IRG. In any event we are really only in the second inning.
Dear Lord, I hope that I live to see the mullahs hung upside down in their little dresses in the public square. Right now I have so many reasons to cling to life.
My grandma was from Lebanon. Expect chaos. And after trump does his photo op, maybe the American Resistance can follow the Syrian example on how to get rid of The Dictator who yes, must flee to Russia. Maybe. No guts, no glory.
Strange as might have seemed a month ago, perhaps Israel should help (thank) Ukraine for weakening Russia, so that the rebels in Syria could overthrow Assad, so Israel could occupy strategic positions.
Whoever wins, the women won't be any better off with all of these patriarchs running the show. I wonder how many people will still try to flee the region. It is great that al-Assad is overthrown, but I don't know that there will be good leadership after that. How is good leadership developed in chaotic, repressive countries? It seems difficult to do. I wish the region peace, but not a return to repression.
I am really appreciative of your hopeful narratives of Russia's losses, because it makes me hopeful for Ukraine. If Trump likes winners so much he should be buddies with Zelensky.
Yes, Linda that was exactly my thought. These Muslim men filled now filled with power… How are they going to treat the women? All patriarchal religions seem to focus, primarily on how to control women and our reproductive abilities. Especially the Muslims making women dress head to toe in black covering their hair, just shows how scared these men are of women and our power
Unfortunately we are going in that direction in the US. I am sad for the women of the world who live under regimes or the thumb of oppressive men, and hope they get out.
It's up to young women to fight back. I did when I was young but no energy for that now...
We saw what happened to the women that fought back in Iran. It was not pretty. We saw what happened to the people that fought back in China and Hong Kong it was not pretty. As for the US, families of the young women need to be fighting with them so we protect them from becoming state forced baby machines. The marching and protesting I did when I was young was not very dangerous compared to what I think young women will be facing. I think they will be killed off in many ways. There are men who hate women, unless they totally bend to their wills. That is the stuff of authoritarian regimes. It is unfortunate that there are often women who join with them for what they seem to perceive is self-preservation.
It’s not Muslims overall. Muslims, just like Christian’s have their more repressive, far right leaders who manage to control and dictate the lives of women. The Koran just like the Bible has been used by malevolent men(usually)as a weapon to oppress rather than to inspire or uplift.
Well the muslim religion is the worse for women...and still my point is it comes from fear - why else oppress women to that point? Fear always leads too violence.
Worse than Christianity and Judaism? By the Islamic calendar, the Muslim world is in the middle of its 15th century. One *could* compare that to where the Christian world was in its 15th century: in the process of emerging from its Dark Ages, during which the wisdom of Greece and Rome was kept alive -- guess where: in the Muslim world, which stretched from Persia to Spain.
But the comparison of the 15th century AH and the 15th century CE is limited because in the 20th century the Western world discovered oil in the Middle East and Arab dreams of self-determination were squelched after WW1 by the imperial ambitions of Britain and France and the economic ambitions of the U.S. and others. Once one knows a little of the history, it becomes difficult to blame everything on "the Muslim religion."
“Have we any ambitions in Arabia Dryden?”
“Difficult question Sir.”
"The man who tells lies merely conceals the truth. The man who tells half lies has forgotten where he put it."
I love Dryden.
I believe that Trump will do whatever Putin orders. He is, in some way that we don't know, beholden to Putin. I wish it were otherwise but I can't see it.
We did not see one woman in all the that was seen on TV.
Great reporting, Lucian. The clearest I've seen about this anywhere. Hard to know how to feel about Israel at this point. If only Netanyahu could be toppled.
Are you the real Sara Davidson? The Loose Change writer? Come on, Sara, it's impossible to have happy feelings about Israel and its ruler and has been for at least a year. We lost our chance to get rid of T, and I'm guessing the Israelis won't be able to get rid of N, either. It's a world of aspiring dictators.
Getting Bibi out now is a good time. He has only about 25 % of Israelis.
🤞
I am so sick of the Israeli/Middle East conflict. It has been going on since before I was alive and it will never end. There will never be a two state solution. I don't understand why the US is so heavily involved with Israel. That conflict will continue forever. Let them work it out. The making of the Israeli state after WWII, which involved taking Palestinian land was always going to be a disaster. To be clear...I hate Hamas but Israel is hardly innocent.
Would Muslim terrorism exist if Israel had never existed?
The elephant in the room is Saudi Arabia, the funders and disseminators of Wahhabism - Salafism. They operate the school of terrorists, those who murdered and maimed thousands on 9/11.
The fact that for a long time the two pillars of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East have been Israel and Saudi Arabia should tell you something. The U.S. pretends to value human rights, but here we are backing two apartheid states?
No apartheid from Israel. Read the definition of apartheid
Some people don't call what happened in 1947–48 "ethnic cleansing" either.
When Israel was granted the right to become a democracy in the region it DID! It was a U N granted free country. The Arab nations attacked and murdered Israeli people. That WAS a n ethnic cleaning
Oh, you mean the regime that bailed out Trump's son in law? That regime? Trump will soon make us the very best of friends. My God! We are in for some terrible times, I'm afraid.
Are you serious? The US (CIA) has intervened all over in the Middle East for many many years. Iran? We got rid of a democratically elected president and put our puppet, the Shah in his place. Then we helped get rid of the Shah and look who's there today. Al Qaeda? Bin Laden's anger was fueled by thousands of US troops stationed in Saudi and other Gulf State countries. ISIS? We can thank Abu Graibe prison for that. Take a look at Lebanon, Jordan and yes, Israel - but our role even before WW2 is part of the ME's history.
Agree with you to a point but if you read ISIS literature, they claim to be unmotivated by injustice (at our misdeeds) but rather they are motivated entirely by Islam and a desire to establish a planetary caliphate.
Yep! And as you note just below, we had to screw around in Iraq. "Destabilizing" (polite word for "blowing apart") Iraq removed a key buffer against Iran -- in case anyone's wondering why Iran has the resources to back Hezbollah et al. And as to the history -- USians tend to think that "ancient history" is whatever happened in our parents' time. The Middle East doesn't think that way.
Come to think of it, the Middle East's view of history has a few things in common with fans of the "Lost Cause" -- you know, the ones who carried the Confederate battle flag into the Capitol on 1/6/21 and are in charge of quite a few Southern states.
And let us not forget our adventurism in Iraq. Hillary Clinnton's great idea to 'libertae' Libya. We have blown up the Middle East!
Black flaggers have been going at each other and anything they deem a target for circa 15centuries across SWA and beyond. Black flaggers can and do rationalize any violence (religious, political, economic, societal, or cultural).
Those rationalizations are not exclusive to black flaggers. They remain the domain of men, though.
Note: (a) Have an aversion to the word and concept of terrorism. (b) There is much more to a flag than a mere identifying symbol of a nation or group/org. Flags are often the trigger of violence. See college football's planting of a college/university flag on an opponent's field/school symbol. Burning of and stomping upon US flags worldwide. And in battles down through history killing its holder or capturing it was a BFD as is replacing one with one's own. Running flags up the mast of captured vessel, building or dirt. Is often an intentional insult. US mil rarely if ever does that now. They learned the hard way that winning hearts and minds isn't possible by insulting the locals.
Yes. Terrorists hate. And hating Israel is probably the main reason for Muslim terrorism. The oldest bigotry-anti Semitism
I agree. But a two state solution is the only answer.
It’s all about having eyes and ears in the broader ME; at least that’s how it all began. They could speak the language and could ethnically, fit right in. We have been allies for several generations and until the last few years, there has been no reason to question that alliance. The rise of dictators though makes one wonder about the continued partnership although it’s looking as though it’s too late for reflection.
It’s embarrassing to Jews and Israel to have a ginormous, POS destroying their government and country while murdering thousands. We feel the same way about Netanyahu that millions of anti-trump people feel - disgust and revulsion daily. Two fucking peas in a pod.
Amen! Daughter of Holocaust victims here and I have never bern fond of Bibi. He has been on a mission of revenge against Hamas and Hezbollah since his brother was killed many years ago. Now he seeks kingdom like his bro, DJT.
I suspect that Putin's dimwit orange puppet will keep his distance from all of this, taking credit of course for the victory but avoiding doing anything that might hurt his masters in Moscow.
Jeeze. We can hope, but you know how the orange one twists with the Russian winds.
Yes, a great summary of events. Now what is needed is for the Iranian regime to be toppled the same way and for the Iranian people to be free; and sanctions lifted as they align themselves with the west and cut all Russian ties, Wouldn't that be great!
👍👍💥🙏
Lucian, Thank you for clarifying all the dynamics of this ever-changing situation. Most news articles rarely describe the complex dynamics and personalities at play in the Middle East.
Unfortunately, my impression is that within a few days Bibi and Israel will be blamed by legacy media, many world leaders, and anyone else needing a scapegoat for Assad's dictatorship, his fall, whatever chaos ensues in Syria, and probably for the price of eggs in the U.S.
I think the Republicans will continue to hold Biden responsible for the price of eggs. MAGA maggots, never satisfy their appetite for domination or twisting the truth into knots.
Do we need a scapegoat for the fall of Assad? I don't think so. Do we need to know who is responsible for what's happened in Gaza over the past year? The outrageous attacks on Gazan civilians, the starving, the attacks on people supplying food? No, it's Netanyahu and AIPAC, many Israeli soldiers following illegal orders, anyone who supports the state of Israel. I remember when I was young, and the 7 Day War. My husband, who lived with his mother, and had access to a tv, which I didn't, was so admiring of Abba Eban and said how he crushed the Arabs in the General Assembly. But now, even he admits that religious states, no matter what their origin, are evil, and their leaders even more so. Netanyahu belongs before the ICC, and Israeli commanding officers and their followers belong before a war crimes tribunal. Assad? I don't think Israel is responsible for Assad, in any way shape, or form. If you want anyone to blame, look north, towards Russia.
Good analysis about Israel’s strategy and timing over the last few months, but please be clear that Israel suffered unprovoked bombing from hezbollah in Lebanon since October 8, 2023. Israel didn’t ask for or start the war in the north. Fortunately for Israel and the rest of the world, they have won it.
"Al Jazeera reports that Israeli forces have moved past the Golan Heights buffer zone into several small towns in Syria, telling residents that they “do not intend to harm” villagers in the area." Nope. They will give them the same civil rights as any other Palestinian in the occupied territories.
And once again, the Palestinians are S.O.L
I have a hard time buying any conclusive scenario before we see where the rebels are able to go with their stunning victory. Keeping an eye on news agencies Israel despises, Haaretz and—as Susan Linehan suggests—Aljazeera, will be useful.
Agree. Failed states do not make for good neighbors or peace and prosperity. They are a magnet for mofos of all types. Same w/the absence of a state. 4eg Palestinian state, Kurdish state.
Israel is now boarded by the failed state of Lebanon, the failed state of Syria, the absence of a Palestine/Gaza state, a state hanging on by a couple of threads, Jordan, and the ungoverned area of the Sinai, Egypt. All of which once had a thriving Jewish population. Instability comes with unpredictability.
Bibi et al are short-term thinkers. Israel's continued existence is dependent on long-term solutions for a host of reasons. Number one is the sheer population disparity inside and outside of its borders.
Making an island bigger doesn't protect it from the inevitable rising of the surrounding sea. At best delays it.
Sage analysis, Shadowcloud. Sudden rebel victories and their aftermaths in Libya and Cuba were on my mind.
Far too many overlook the prevailing sentiment of the entire region (SWA) being treachery. Allegiances can rapidly change across the region because the parties involved seek favor and advantage. All too often view the region solely through American eyes hence focus on the big shiny objects while ignoring all else. Another way of saying how most view other regions/cultures is how they few America's, i.e. to say binary due to our 2party system.
Meanwhile our northern neighbors have 2major parties but are near the top of the list in international affairs including diplomacy. That's due to being clam, polite people who are excellent listens, hence think longer and deeper on international matters. Americans love to talk and love to oversimplify.
Your 2 examples affirm that and can add a list longer than my arm to it. Americans like reducing things down to a person rather than all the components of a nation or region. It explains how America long pursued regime change in one form or another, or elevated someone and backed them. The old change PersonA out and or place PersonB in charge and viola it's fixed.
Specific to Sy since little news makes it into the western press, the fall of Assad appears surprising. Sy was no longer a country outside of Damascus for many a year. Heck, US mil is inside Sy and has been >decade.
Reminds me of Kabul and its central government failed experiment. Same with Havana and Tripoli or Saigon. And here in America w/NYC and DC.
Hospitals, aid workers, families, children. Yep, Bibi is a winner
You're right, tecolote42, that Hamas,Hezbollah, and their sponsors have recklessly and ruthlessly attacked and murdered Israeli aid workers, medical personnel, families, and children. Thousands of Israels are still displaced from the October 7 and Hezbollah attacks. It's been an avoidable tragedy, if only those terrorists forces and their sponsors weren't determined to eliminate Israel and kill all Jews.
The two commenters below belong together.
Hospitals, aid workers, and other human shields used by Hamas? Good point!
But that is just the start. The Turks will enter northwest Syria to create a buffer zone , the Kurds will take the northeastern desert rich in oil and gas territory and the Jordanians the south to create a buffer zone against ISIS . Syria will likely collapse to its core of Damascus and the central coast north to Aleppo. It will be viable but not rich or powerful. Exactly as Israel would prefer.
That’s the easy part for Bibi. Their strategic enemy was never Syria but the Mullahs of Iran and the IRG. The Mullahs are, according to the NYT , “ panicked “ and have only two choices : cave in to Bibi and Trump’s demand to permanently destroy their nuclear bomb project. Or rush to create workable nuclear. weapons sufficient to deter an Israel / US attack on their bomb making facilities naked to missile or smart bomb attacks; buried though they may be.
The parties have some time to make a decision. It is reported to take 18 months, give or take, to make a workable nuke from the enriched uranium they already have . Upon that decision rests real serous war. Or, in the alternative Israel could covertly organize a regime change by igniting a popular revolt supported by the Iranian Army which hates the IRG. In any event we are really only in the second inning.
Dear Lord, I hope that I live to see the mullahs hung upside down in their little dresses in the public square. Right now I have so many reasons to cling to life.
My grandma was from Lebanon. Expect chaos. And after trump does his photo op, maybe the American Resistance can follow the Syrian example on how to get rid of The Dictator who yes, must flee to Russia. Maybe. No guts, no glory.
Strange as might have seemed a month ago, perhaps Israel should help (thank) Ukraine for weakening Russia, so that the rebels in Syria could overthrow Assad, so Israel could occupy strategic positions.
Thank you, Lucian. I've been specifically waiting for your reporting on what this all means. Excellent information. I'm cautiously hopeful...