Syria

Iran has managed to gain influence over the Middle East through the help of its ally, the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who supported Iran during the 1980’s war with Iraq. His help is appreciated by Tehran but might not be necessary any longer. President Bashar al-Assad might have needed the Iranians during the Syrian conflict of the last few years, but now with the peace talks looming, it seems that the strategic aim of Hezbollah has been achieved, and there is no more requirements from al-Assad to further Iran’s influence in the Middle East.

Submitted by Sarah Lazare via TheAntiMedia.org,

State Department spokesperson John Kirby is raising eyebrows after he released a recap of 2015 “success stories” in which he credits the United States for bringing “peace” and “security” to Syria and “stepping up” to help the country’s people at a difficult time.

Submitted by Ingrid Carlqvist via The Gatestone Institute,

• Some 30 Muslim men thought that the woman was in violation of Islamic sharia law, by being in Sweden unaccompanied by a man. They thought that she should therefore be raped and her teenage son killed.

If you’re already furious about the fact that Washington’s efforts to destabilize the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria have resulted in a five-year conflict that’s cost hundreds of thousands of innocent lives and triggered the worst refugee crisis in European history, prepare yourself, because you’re about to become even more furious. 

Submitted by Eric Zuesse, originally posted at strategic-culture.org,