English

The cynicism and futility of two ten-year-old Arab ‘civil wars’

By Abdel Bari Atwan

Video footage has been widely circulated on Arab social media of Syrian fighters in Libya, sent by Turkey to support the Government of National Accord (GNA), who were captured by the rival forces of Gen. Khalifa Haftar.

The young men are shown looking humiliated and demeaned. They give their names, identify their hometowns in Syria, express remorse, and confess that they only went to Libya because of material inducements: a monthly salary of $2,000 and a promise of being granted Turkish citizenship in future – i.e.

Why was the US allowed to fly a notorious murderer and torturer out of the country?

By Abdel Bari Atwan

The airlifting of convicted Lebanese murderer, torturer and collaborator Amer Fakhoury to the United States is a gross insult to Lebanon, its history, its democratic institutions, its popular protest movement, and its once-proud resistance. Fakhoury, who ran the notorious Khiam detention center in South Lebanon when the area was under Israeli occupation, was flown by helicopter from the American embassy compound in Awkar outside Beirut to Cyprus and then transferred to the US, earning the government the ‘gratitude’ of President Donald Trump.

Saudi Arabia’s bid to punish Russia by crashing the oil market could backfire badly

By Abdel Bari Atwan

Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin-Salman has launched two new wars within the space of a few days.

The first was domestic: his campaign of arrests targeting senior princes and their associates aimed at consolidating his hold on power and neutralizing all his enemies.

The second is global: slashing the price of Saudi oil and ordering a hike in production in a bid to punish Russia after it refused to agree with OPEC to a 1.5 million b/d output cut aimed at boosting prices, which have been hit by falling global demand due to the coronavirus epidemic.

Did Bin-Salman thwart a ruling family coup, or launch a pre-emptive strike to ease his ascent to the throne?

By Abdel Bari Atwan

There are two plausible explanations for why Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin-Salman ordered the arrest of his uncle, Prince Ahmad Bin-Abdelaziz, and his cousin, former crown prince and interior minister Prince Muhammad bin-Nayef, on charges of treason and plotting a coup.

The first is that the two men were leading a rebellion against him within the ruling family, and it was intending to install them as king and crown prince as part of a ‘reordering’ of the House of Saud.

The Turkish president has launched his threatened war, but he is in a weaker position domestically and regionally than his Syrian counterpart

By Abdel Bari Atwan

The situation in Idlib is going from bad to worse, and from serious to critical. The deadline set by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan for Syrian troops to withdraw to behind the Turkish military observation posts set up in the province expired on Sunday. But the Syrian army ignored the ultimatum, and did not pull back an inch from the 600 square kilometres it recaptured in its recent offensive, including four important towns and and dozens of villages and hamlets.

The Afghanistan peace agreement is a fig leaf to cover up the failure of the US and its project and the triumph of the Taliban

By Abdel Bari Atwan

Saturday’s signing in Doha of the peace agreement between the American government and the Taliban movement — represented by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Taliban deputy leader Mullah Abdulghani Baradar respectively — is an admission of defeat by the Trump administration. The Salafi Taliban are celebrating victory after 18 years of fierce resistance and preparing to re-establish their Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in Kabul, this time having obtained prior international recognition.

Whether Turkey mounts its threatened offensive or not, Assad seems set to emerge with more territory and Erdogan with more refugees

By Abdel Bari Atwan

With Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ultimatum for Syrian troops to withdraw from the areas of Idlib province they recaptured due to expire on Saturday; with growing numbers of Turkish soldiers getting killed in Syria; and with the third round of Russian–Turkish talks in Ankara failing to reach agreement and being carried on into Friday; the coming few days look like being decisive in resolving the ‘Idlib Crisis’, either peacefully or by war.

Mubarak may have been deposed, but his legacy largely lives on under iron-fisted military rule

By Abdel Bari Atwan

The Egyptian authorities reacted to the passing of former president Hosni Mubarak by declaring three days of national mourning, while the military establishment hailed him as a hero of the 1973 war (when he commanded the air force). But the general public has different and conflicted feelings. Most Egyptians saw Mubarak as a corrupt dictator who favoured the business elite throughout his 30-year rule, enshrining the marriage between money and politics while making life worse for the poor and downtrodden majority, as well as contributing to the destruction of Iraq by supporting the war against it.

Erdogan’s brinkmanship in Idlib could be the undoing of his presidency and his neo-Ottoman regional ambitions

By Abdel Bari Atwan

The Green light given by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan to extremist groups to attack positions recently retaken by the Syrian army in Idlib province has lit the fuse of a military confrontation that could turn into all-out war.

The surprise assault by Turkish-backed armed Syrian opposition factions, with artillery support from the 15,000-strong Turkish army contingent deployed in Idlib, may be Erdogan’s way of reinforcing his ultimatum for Syrian forces to withdraw from the parts of the province they have recaptured in their current offensive – an area of some 600 square kilometres including important towns such as Ma’arrat an-Numan, Khan Sheykhoun and Saraqeb.

Turkey has a lot to lose if it doesn’t back down in Syria, and pledges of US support can’t be taken seriously

By Abdel Bari Atwan

Russian President Vladimir Putin has conspicuously failed, so far, to respond to his Turkish counterpart President Recep Tayyip Erodgan’s repeated requests for a face-to-face meeting to discuss the escalation of military clashes in Idlib province, which risks leading to all-out war as the Syrian army advances in the area, retaking dozens of villages and three key towns – Khan Shikhoun, Maarat an-Nu’man and Saraqeb – and reopening the main Damascus-Aleppo and Aleppo-Latakia highways for the first time in 12 years.