United States

The US government has most likely acted to prevent the Syrian government’s armed forces from recapturing the city of Aleppo from the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front, according to Richard Black, US Senator for the State of Virginia On Friday, Black said: “It is clear to me that what is happening is we are trying desperately to slow down the Syrian army’s advance, which is on the verge of crushing al-Nusra and liberating Aleppo once and for all” al-Nusra Front Sputnik News reports: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov indicated that the United States was attempting to create a safe-zone

Submitted by Eric Zuesse courtesy of Strategic Culture

Why Obama Prioritizes Ousting Assad Over Defeating Syria’s Jihadists: Part I

Dr Christina Lin, a leading young scholar on jihadist groups, opens her April 8th commentary at Asia Times: «In a blunder reeking of the fallout caused by supplying Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to 1980s mujahideen in Afghanistan, civilian airline passengers are now under threat from Syrian jihadists armed with portable surface-to-air missiles (MANPADS).

BofAML's Mike Cantopoulos' distaste for corporate fundamentals, displeasure with the efficacy of QE and easy monetary policy on spurring growth and inflation, and concerns that a further deterioration in credit conditions will create deeper economic troubles not appreciated by many have left credit markets with poor default adjusted valuations and little room to absorb a negative shock. He highlights nine key reasons below why BofAML believes this rally won't last (and in fact may have already seen its end).

Over two dozen U.S. lawmakers have urged US President Barack Obama not to supply Syrian rebels with American-made shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles. The US has been ready with their ‘Plan B’ with officials saying last month that ‘select’ moderate groups could get antiaircraft weapons if  the Syrian cease-fire collapses. According to DodBuzz : The 27 members of Congress, led by Reps.

In addition to the poor headline Establishment survey print which rose only 160,000 in April, coupled with a deplorable Household survey employment number which plunged by 316,000 for the month and below levels seen in February, an even more concerning development was the resumption in the deteriorating trend in the US labor force participation rate, which in recent months had been on a steady increase as far fewer workers were dropping out of the workforce (contrary to convention wisdom, this was not driven by new entrants into the labor force).