War

An aide to the office of chief Palestinian Authority peace negotiator Saeb Erekat has been arrested by Palestinian security officials and accused of spying for Israel. NPR reports: The arrest occurred two weeks ago, and the precise nature of the allegations aren’t yet clear, NPR’s Emily Harris reports: “The man is suspected of passing information to the Israelis. The head of the Palestinian negotiating office, Saeb Erekat, confirmed that the arrest happened a couple weeks ago but wouldn’t detail the man’s job or assess how much damage may have been done.

Islamic State jihadi fighters have taken 400 civilians hostage in eastern Syria, during an attack on a government held district in Deir al Zor. The hostages include women and children. It comes just a day after around 300 people were brutally murdered in Deir al Zor. The Sunday Express reports: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said those abducted were all Sunnis and included families of pro-government fighters. They were taken to other areas under IS control in northwest Syria, it said.

While US intervention in its various forms has likely been ongoing for decades, March 2011 is often cited as the start of foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War (refering to political, military and operational support to parties involved in the ongoing conflict in Syria, as well as active foreign involvement).

Since then the nation has collapsed into chaos with an endless array of superlatives possible to describe the economic and civilian carnage that has ensued.

Submitted by Dan Sanchez via TheAntiMedia.org,

Before the French Revolution and its Reign of Terror, Louis XV predicted, “After me, the Deluge.” Before being overthrown, Libya’s secular dictator tried to warn the West of a new Reign of Terror, essentially foretelling, “After me, the Jihad.”

This was disclosed with the recent release of phone conversations from early 2011 between Muammar Gaddafi and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The Turkish deputy prime minister has called on the German government to increase its military involvement in Syria. During an interview with German newspaper Die Welt, Mehmet Simsek claimed that the move could result in stemming the flow of refugees into Europe. “If Germany and others want to stop the influx of refugees, they must stop the bombings by Syrian and Russian forces against the Syrian opposition” Simsek said. During the interview Simsek also argued that the resignation of Syrian President Bashar Assad is an essential precondition for the peace in Syria..