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Top Republicans, Israel Lobby Weigh for Obama’s Syria Strike
President Barack Obama meets with his National Security Staff to discuss the situation in Syria, in the Situation Room of the White House, Aug. 30, 2013. From left at the table: National Security...
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Ex-World Leaders Urge U.S. to Forego Military Attack on Syria
The United States, which is preparing to launch a military strike on Syria, is being cautioned by several former world leaders and Nobel Peace laureates to seek a political solution to the ongoing...
View ArticleIran Looms over Syria Debate for Pro-Israel Groups
With Congress still deliberating over Barack Obama’s request for authorisation to take military action against Syria, the powerful Israel lobby here has taken the lead in pressing the president’s case....
View ArticleSyria Strike Set to Overshadow G20 Summit
World leaders from G20 are meeting in St Petersburg, Russia, amid sharp differences over possible U.S. military action against Syria in response to what the U.S. administration calls a deadly chemical...
View Article/CORRECTED REPEAT/Obama’s Case for Syria Didn’t Reflect Intel Consensus
Contrary to the general impression in Congress and the news media, the Syria chemical warfare intelligence summary released by the Barack Obama administration Aug. 30 did not represent an intelligence...
View ArticleU.N. Inspection a Figleaf to Justify Air Strike on Syria
The United Nations, which has remained deadlocked over Syria, is in danger of being craftily exploited to justify the impending air strike on Damascus. The threat of double vetoes by Russia and China...
View ArticleRussia Throws Obama a Life Preserver on Syria
With President Barack Obama facing increasingly certain defeat in his quest for Congressional authorisation to carry out military strikes against Syria, the Russian government Monday appeared to offer...
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Even if Syria Complies on Chemical Arms, Six Others Still at Large
Samantha Power (left), Permanent Representative of the United States to the U.N., speaks to journalists on the Syrian crisis Sep. 5, 2013. Credit: UN Photo/JC McIlwaineIf Syria eventually agrees to...
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Mixed Reactions to Obama’s Embrace of Russian Deal
President Barack Obama meets with Members of Congress to discuss Syria in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Sep. 3, 2013. Credit: Official White House Photo by Pete SouzaPresident Barack Obama’s...
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U.N. Team Confirms Syria Chemical Attack but Not Culpability
Professor Ake Sellstrom (left), head of the chemical weapons team working in Syria, hands over the report on the Aug. 21, 2013 Al-Ghouta massacre to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Credit: UN...
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U.N. Loses Big if U.S. Attacks Syria Unilaterally
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has repeatedly said that the Syrian crisis can be solved only politically. Credit: IPSBy Thalif DeenUNITED NATIONS, Aug 30 2013 (IPS) If and when the United States...
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Despite Opposition, Obama Undeterred from Striking Syria
Portraits of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Credit: james_gordon_losangeles/CC by 2.0By Jim LobeWASHINGTON, Aug 30 2013 (IPS) U.S. President Barack Obama indicated Friday he would soon conduct what...
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Splintered Damascus Holds Its Breath
President Bashar al-Assad greets people from almost every street in the areas of Damascus that are under his control. Credit: Karlos Zurutuza/IPS.By Karlos ZurutuzaERBIL, Iraqi Kurdistan , Sep 3 2013...
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U.N. Chief Dodges Question on “Illegal” Attack on Syria
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses a Sep. 3, 2013 press conference on the latest developments related to the crisis in Syria. Credit: UN Photo/Evan SchneiderBy Thalif DeenUNITED NATIONS, Sep 3...
View ArticleIsrael Silent on Chemical Weapons
By Pierre KlochendlerJERUSALEM, Sep 23 2013 (IPS) “Does Israel have chemical weapons too?” is the question posed by the U.S. publication Foreign Policy, citing a newly uncovered CIA document from 1983...
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U.N. Probe Chief Doubtful on Syria Sarin Exposure Claims
Ǻke Sellström (right), head of the UN technical mission to investigate the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria, briefs journalists on the work of the mission on Dec. 13, 2013. At his side is...
View ArticleSyria’s Chemicals Haunt the Mediterranean
By Apostolis FotiadisATHENS, Jul 11 2014 (IPS) Scientists and local communities are expressing serious concern about the ongoing destruction of Syria’s chemical arsenal on board a vessel in...
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Analysis: Global Politics at a Turning Point – Part 1
Prem Shankar Jha is an eminent Indian journalist based in New Delhi. He is also the author of numerous books, including The Twilight of the Nation State: Globalisation, Chaos, and War (2006). In this...
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Analysis: Global Politics at a Turning Point – Part 2
Prem Shankar Jha is an eminent Indian journalist based in New Delhi. He is also the author of numerous books, including The Twilight of the Nation State: Globalisation, Chaos, and War (2006). In this...
View ArticleUN Unable to Fully Investigate Chemical Weapons Allegations in Sudan
By Lindah MogeniUNITED NATIONS, Oct 5 2016 (IPS)The UN has only limited access to Jebel Marra, the location in Sudan where Amnesty International alleges Sudanese government forces have used chemical...
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Chemical Arms Treaty Holdouts Include Volatile Syria
The Halabja poison gas attack took place on Mar. 16, 1988, during the closing days of the Iran-Iraq War, when chemical weapons were used by the Iraqi government forces in the Kurdish town of Halabja in...
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White House Letter Fuels U.S. Involvement in Syria Debate
U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel briefs the press in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, April 25, 2013. Hagel announced that the U.S. intelligence community assesses with varying degrees of...
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Obama Seen Unlikely to Sharply Escalate Intervention in Syria
Boys in Al Raqqa, Syria, Apr. 11, 2013. Credit: Beshroffline/cc by 2.0By Jim LobeWASHINGTON, May 4 2013 (IPS) Despite renewed pressure by hawks in Congress and the media, U.S. President Barack Obama...
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Despite Arms Announcement, U.S. Syria Strategy Remains Unclear
The Obama administration intends to militarily arm Syrian opposition. Credit: FreedomHouse2/CC by 2.0By Jim LobeWASHINGTON, Jun 14 2013 (IPS) Despite Thursday’s announcement that President Barack Obama...
View ArticleHundreds Reported Killed in Syria Gas Attack
By AJ CorrespondentsDOHA, Aug 21 2013 (Al Jazeera) Syrian activists claim that government forces have carried out a “poisonous gas” attack in suburbs of the capital, Damascus, leaving hundreds of...
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U.S., UK, France Seek Wider U.N. Support for Syria Probe
Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson speaks to journalists on Aug. 21 following his closed-door briefing to the Security Council on the latest allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria. Credit: UN...
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OP-ED: Obama Should “Resist the Call” to Intervene in Syria
The United States should think twice before intervening military in Syria, says Robert Hunter. Credit: FreedomHouse/CC by 2.0By Robert E. HunterWASHINGTON, Aug 26 2013 (IPS) President Obama got it...
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Major U.S. Debate Over Wisdom of Syria Attack
The United States is debating whether to intervene militarily in Syria. Above, Syrian rebel forces. Credit: FreedomHouse/CC by 2.0By Jim LobeWASHINGTON, Aug 27 2013 (IPS) While some kind of U.S....
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In Rush to Strike Syria, U.S. Tried to Derail U.N. Probe
Secretary of State John Kerry (shown as a senator in 2009) has called the use of chemical weapons in Syria a "moral obscenity". Credit: Ralph Alswang, Center for American Progress Action Fund/CC by...
View ArticleU.S. Neocon Hawks Take Flight Over Syria
By Jim LobeWASHINGTON, Aug 28 2013 (IPS) In an echo of the tactics they used to promote U.S. intervention in the Balkans, Iraq and Libya, a familiar clutch of neo-conservatives published a letter...
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OP-ED: Military Force Is a Blunt Instrument, Mr. President
A U.S. strike on Syria could be launched from navy destroyers in the Mediterranean. Credit: Official US Navy Imagery/CC by 2.0By Lawrence WilkersonWASHINGTON, Aug 30 2013 (IPS) Now that we have heard...
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