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Geopolitics Syria Crisis

Inside Bustan al-Qasr, The Front Line Of A Divided Aleppo

This Aleppo neighborhood divides government and rebel forces, and the only things the two sides exchange are hostages and dead bodies.

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Geopolitics Syria Crisis

How The West Lost Syria — And Turkey Found Russia

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Rio Woes, Clinton History, Massive Gift

SPOTLIGHT: RIO IN TROUBLE, ONE WEEK FROM OLYMPICS Just seven days from the opening of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is still reeling from a succession of emergencies that tarnish the country’s image as it prepares to play host to the world’s top athletes. A long-running political and economic crisis continues […]

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Assad’s Future, Brazil Protests, Bollywood Anniversary

SYRIA PEACE TALKS IN GENEVA Syrian opposition negotiator Mohamad Alloush said during the Geneva Syria peace talks Saturday that Syria’s political transition could only start once Bashar al-Assad was no longer president. “We consider that the transitional period starts with the fall of Bashar al-Assad or his death,” The Jerusalem Post quoted him as saying. […]

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Geopolitics Syria Crisis

The Impossible Syrian Ceasefire

The internationally brokered ceasefire had a rocky start. While the first 24 hours passed relatively quietly, Russian and Syrian government air strikes picked up again on Sunday, with airplanes targeting towns and villages controlled by the Free Syrian Ar

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Geopolitics Syria Crisis

Fleeing Ghouta, Tunnels Are Only Way Out Of Syrian City Under Siege

While residents in Madaya may have no way out, other besieged areas under government control are finding creative ways to carry on. In Eastern Ghouta, a well-known rebel-held area in rural Damascus, residents can access a network of tunnels to escape or t

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Geopolitics Ideas

Five Reasons Why Iran Could Be Key To Defeating ISIS

Iranian foreign policy is still a major question mark, even as Western delegations stream through Tehran in the wake of a nuclear deal that promises an end to sanctions and international isolation. But there is no denying that Iran is a major regional power, which holds the real potential of becoming a working partner with […]

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“Collapsed” Al-Qaeda, “Ill-Mannered” Cameron, Marge And Homer

AL-QAEDA HAS “COLLAPSED” The al-Qaeda terror group has been “cut off and ripped apart by ISIS,” two of its most important spiritual leaders told The Guardian. Abu Qatada and Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi said that al-Qaeda has been drained of recruits and money because of territorial and influential losses to rival ISIS. Al-Maqdisi said its organizational […]

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Nusra Commander Killed, Kremlin Critic Freed, Ancient Love Songs

SENIOR NUSRA COMMANDER KILLEDAbu Hammam al-Shami, a senior commander of al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda branch operating in Syria, was killed by a Syrian government airstrike in the Idlib province, both the terrorist organization and state media have confirmed. Shami, who held the title of general military commander, was apparently meeting with other commanders when he […]

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Geopolitics

Why Turkey And The U.S. See Syria So Differently

The Turkish government still sees the downfall of the Assad regime as the No. 1 priority. Washington is most concerned with the battle against ISIS. Is there room for an alliance?

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Geopolitics Syria Crisis

The Fall Of Jamal Maarouf, Symbol Of The Moderate Syrian Rebellion’s Demise

REYHANLI — At the beginning of this year, Jamal Maarouf was regarded as the new white knight of the Syrian insurrection. Over the course of just a few days in January, Maarouf and his men drove ISIS jihadists out of northern Syria’s Idlib province. Armed by the United States and Saudi Arabia, the leader of […]

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Geopolitics

These Two ISIS Foot Soldiers Fled In Horror – But One Wants To Return

One slipped away, the other killed his way out of ISIS after witnessing too much brutality from the jihadist group. But as they tell their dramatic stories, sharp differences emerge.

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Geopolitics Syria Crisis

Kurdish Women Fighters Help Halt ISIS In Syria

As Islamic terrorists press forward in Syria, female fighters and commanders now make up a third of Kurdish forces. “Women can fight better than men,” one says.

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Geopolitics

Putin And Obama, South Korea Ferry Sentence, “Naked Capital”

Tuesday, November 11, 2014 APEC SUMMIT ENDS WITH CHINESE FREE-TRADE PROGRESSAfter two days of meetings at the Beijing-hosted Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, leaders of the 21 regional economies agreed to begin work toward possible adoption of a free-trade pact proposed by China, AP reports. A two-year study of the initiative will be launched with the […]

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Geopolitics

Widening Syrian Airstrikes, Bin Laden Hero Unmasked, Manet Record

Thursday, November 6, 2014 AIRSTRIKES TARGET AL-NUSRA IN SYRIA The U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition launched airstrikes against the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front and another jihadist group, Ahrar al-Sham, in what appears to be the beginning of a wider military operation in northern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. This came after the al-Nusra Front seized […]

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Geopolitics

After Backing Syria’s Islamist Rebels, Turkey Now Fears Al-Qaeda ‘Boomerang’

Ankara had bet on Islamist rebels taking down the Assad regime. Now they may have helped create a monster right across the border.

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Geopolitics Syria Crisis

Along Syria-Turkey Border, A New Battle Is On Between Islamists And Kurds

CEYLANPINAR – Instantly, spoons stop stirring in teacups and conversations freeze mid-sentence. A mortar has just been heard a few hundred meters from the main street of Ceylanpinar, a small Turkish town on the border with Syria. Through the window, everybody can see a cloud of black smoke rising up from Ras al-Ayn, the Syrian […]

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