NEW YORK — The Obama administration’s decision to seek $500 million to train and fund elements of the Syrian opposition has been greeted with bipartisan support in Washington. The general consensus is that if the administration had done this three years ago, the situation in Syria would not have turned into a sectarian civil war. […]
syria
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Obama seeks $500M to train, equip Syrian rebels
WASHINGTON — With the conflicts in Syria and Iraq becoming increasingly intertwined against the same Sunni extremist group, President Barack Obama moved on Thursday to ratchet up U.S. efforts to strengthen more moderate Syrian rebels. Obama’s request to Congress for $500 million in training and arms to the opposition in effect opens a second front […]
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Posted inOp-Eds
Austin Bay: Better U.S. response needed in Iraq
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s bloody media foray into northern Iraq adds another international dimension to Syria’s thoroughly internationalized civil war. It is also a direct political challenge to the Obama administration, one so stark that unless the administration acts decisively, nations world wide that rely on U.S. security support will severely […]
Posted inLetters
R. Al Munajjim: Lessons from the past
There seems to be a gap between the “heresies” of academia and the “myths” of the media when it comes to events that involve the interests of great powers. One of the best and most recent examples of that gap involves military intervention by a third party in a civil war. Many media sources have […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Key powers reach agreement on UN resolution on eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The five permanent members of the deeply divided U.N. Security Council reached agreement Thursday on a resolution to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons, a major step in taking the most controversial weapon off the battlefield of the world’s deadliest current conflict. Senior U.S., Russian, British and French diplomats confirmed the agreement, which […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Obama emphasizes diplomacy at United Nations
UNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama on Tuesday welcomed the new Iranian government’s pursuit of a “more moderate course,” saying it should offer the basis for a breakthrough on Iran’s nuclear impasse with the United Nations and the U.S. He signaled a willingness to directly engage Iran’s leaders, tasking Secretary of State John Kerry with […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Cal Thomas: Can’t trust Assad to honor any deals
Expecting Syria to live up to an agreement between Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for the cataloging, inspection, removal and eventual destruction or sequester of chemical weapons is a subtle seduction. Why would a dictator like Bashar al-Assad relinquish his most potent weapon in the midst of a civil […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Company responds to chemical weapon allegation
In the Bangor Daily News article the Sun Journal published on Sept 9, 2013 titled “Report says Winslow company sold Syria vaccines that were stockpiled as chemical weapon precursor” you state that “a Winslow company’s illegal sale of vaccines used on birds in the early 1990’s has been linked by the New York Times to […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Syrian official: Chemical weapons deal a ‘victory’
BEIRUT (AP) — A high-ranking Syrian official called the U.S.-Russian agreement on securing Syria’s chemical weapons a “victory” for President Bashar Assad’s regime, but the U.S. warned Sunday “the threat of force is real” if Damascus fails to carry out the plan. The comments by Syrian Minister of National Reconciliation Ali Haidar to a Russian […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Syria chemical weapons deal negotiated by U.S., Russia could swing momentum toward ending war
GENEVA (AP) — A diplomatic breakthrough Saturday on securing and destroying Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile averted the threat of U.S. military action for the moment and could swing momentum toward ending a horrific civil war. Marathon negotiations between U.S. and Russian diplomats at a Geneva hotel produced a sweeping agreement that will require one of […]