[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every week.]
Inside Syria
How to Get Away With Almost Anything
"Deaths in Syria`s civil war long ago passed the 100,000 mark, with hundreds more every day, but there is almost no coverage of the day-to-day fighting and plight of civilians there anymore." Daniel Altman writes about the death toll in Syria and how the most gruesome crimes drop off the radar.
AAAS Satellite Image Analysis: Five of Six Syrian World Heritage Sites "Exhibit Significant Damage" According to new high-resolution satellite image analysis by the nonprofit, nonpartisan American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), five of six World Heritage sites in Syria now "exhibit significant damage" and some structures have been "reduced to rubble"
The Suwayda village of Dama and Druze Militias: A Case Study Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi presents the northern Suwayda province village of Dama as a case study into the use of the banner ‘Jaysh al-Muwahhideen’ for Druze militias.
Syrian Archaeology, ‘Scale of the Scandal’ Michel Al-Maqdissi, the ex-Director of Excavations for the Direction Générale des Antiquités et des Musées, Damascus, writes about the consequences of the ongoing war in Syria and its impact on the future of archaeology in the short and long term.
Mass murder on the Mediterranean high seas A fishing trawler carrying 500 migrants across the Mediterranean was rammed by another boat, causing hundreds to drown.
Opening the debate on sectarianism in Syria Mohammad Dibo follows the heated debate over sectarianism and sectarian discourse in Syria.
Ottawa blocks Canadian from getting Syrian husband out of danger Kathy Tomlinson shares the story of a Canadian woman "Anya Sass" and her Syrian husband "Habib Alibrahim" who are waiting in a war-torn suburb of Damascus for permission from Ottawa for the husband to move to Canada.
Here Are Pictures Showing The Aftermath Of US Strikes In Syria A map shows the targets of the American airstrikes in Syria. The pictures and videos show these targets before and after being hit with Tomahawk missiles.
Regional and International Perspectives
Europe Standing on the Sidelines of the ISIS Strike in Syria Julian Barnes Dacey discusses the European stance on the US intervention against IS, how this course of action will play out, Europe’s role, and the risks of striking the Islamic State.
If there is ‘No Military Solution’ in Iraq, Where is the Non-Military Solution? “For a successful US strategy, military action must be tailored to support diplomatic efforts and goals. The United States needs to understand and reduce the motivations for people to the join the Islamic State.”
US’ anti-ISIS campaign: Emulating the ‘success’ in Somalia and Yemen? “US President Barack Obama pointed to “successful” campaigns in Yemen and Somalia as models for his strategy to “degrade and destroy” the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).”
ISIS propaganda campaign: Did the Islamic State group unintentionally provide US with airstrike intel? “ISIS isn’t the only extremist group in Syria that has caught on to the dangers of social media.” Alessandria Masi considers the fact that this may not be working in their (ISIS) favor, it could be providing important US airstrike intel.
Welcome to Extremistan: The threat and promise of the fracturing of the Middle East. David J. Rothkopf interviews Nasser Judeh the foreign minister of Jordan who provides his perspective on the current situation in the Middle East. According to Judeh, as the situation on the ground shows, both Syria and Iraq “have been divided up by circumstances and demographics in a similar way”.
Is Syrian army US` best option against IS? Too many uncertainties about "moderate" Syrian rebels make them the least effective option for confronting the Islamic State, leaving the Syrian regime the only realistic alternative. Edward Dark writes about the best available ally to the U.S on the ground.
The Arabic translation of this article
Funding shortfall forces WFP to announce cutbacks to food assistance for Syrians This article reports that "The UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned that it is running out of funds to provide food for almost 6 million Syrians receiving its life-saving assistance."
Bienvenido, Habibi! How Latin America is opening its arms to Syrian refugees Sibylla Brodzinsky reports about how Latin American countries such as Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina are becoming viable options for many Syrian refugees "because some Latin American states are drawing on past experience and deciding to open their doors."
Is Syria a Pay-to-Play Conflict? According to Daniel Altman, Even a short involvement in Syria will be exceedingly profitable for the American arms industry, “the first round of air strikes this week reportedly cost $79 million, more than India`s mission to Mars.”
Here`s Obama’s legal case for bombing Syria/September 23, 2014 On 23 September, the US began to bomb targets in Syria. That same day, Samantha Power, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, sent a letter with two major arguments to Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon notifying him, and the Security Council.
Zakaria: Path to political progress in Syria must run through Tehran CNN speaks with Fareed Zakaria who interviewed the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to ask him about his opinion on Tehran`s potential role in tackling ISIS.
Policy and Reports
FBI: About a dozen Americans fighting in Syria Ken Dilanian and Eileen Sullivan reports that "the number of Americans the government believes is fighting alongside extremist groups in Syria is almost one-tenth the number cited by government officials and lawmakers for months."
The Opposition Must Think and Act Politically: An Interview with Louay Hussein Syrian opposition activist Louay Hussein expresses his opinion on the revolution and civil war in Syria. He answers the most important question of all: Where did the revolution for wrong?
US Strikes on ISIS Create `Shock,` Face the Fallout “Analysts assess the fallout of last night`s airstrikes by the US and five Arab countries.”
Economy and Agriculture
Coalition pounds ISIS oil infrastructure A coalition led by the United States has wiped out ISIS controlled oil infrastructures in Syria in efforts to cut off money flow
Documentaries and Films/Media
Violence erupts as Syrians fleeing Isis cross the Turkish border - in pictures These informative illustrations show Turkey opening its borders to the many Syrian refugees fleeing ISIS/ISIL, and the clashes between protestors and Turkish police/soldiers.
40 maps that explain the Middle East Max Fisher provides forty maps that are crucial for understanding the Middle East — its history, its present, and some of the most important stories in the region today.
In Photos: Embedded with the Islamic Front in Aleppo For two weeks this summer, VICE News embedded with the Islamic Front, a coalition of Islamist rebels fighting the forces of President Bashar al-Assad on one hand, and Islamic State militants on the other.
خاص- فيديو: الرقة تحت حد السيف
Exclusive report from Raqqa, the capital of ISIS. Razan, a brave Syrian woman, visited her hometown to secretly film this video about the daily life in her city under the “Islamic State”.
Documentary on effect of conflict in Syria is a moving self-portrait
Neil Parmar reports about the screening of the documentary "Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait" at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and the participation of the Syrian documentary`s directors Wiam Simav Bedirxan and Ossama Mohammed who spent nearly two-and-a-half years working on the film and gathered more than 1,000 clandestine video clips from Syrians and then edited them into a documentary about the continuing conflict in their homeland.
US and Arab partners begin air war against Islamic State in Syria – Part 1“The United States began a campaign of airstrikes against the Islamic State, aimed at more than a dozen locations in Northern Syria and assisted by regional Arab nations. Separately, near Aleppo, the US alone targeted another group, Khorasan, an organization of veteran al-Qaida operatives that presented an active threat to the US Judy Woodruff reports”.
Constancy of US leadership is concern for some anti-Islamic State coalition partners – Part 2 “Chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Warner joins Judy Woodruff from the United Nations to discuss the international reaction to the new campaign against the Islamic State in Syria, and to offer some additional background on the latest American target, the Khorasan group.”
How do airstrikes on Islamic State complicate the war in Syria? – Part 3 “Judy Woodruff gets analysis of how the airstrikes will complicate an already complicated war in Syria from Andrew Tabler of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Joshua Landis of the University of Oklahoma and retired Col. Derek Harvey of the University of South Florida”.
Ghosts of Aleppo - Part 1 “For two weeks this summer, VICE News embedded with the Islamic Front, a coalition of Islamist rebels fighting the forces of President Bashar al-Assad on one hand and Islamic State militants on the other.”
Ghosts of Aleppo - Part 2 "VICE News followed Islamic Front fighters defending the rebel-held half of the city against overwhelming odds from both the might of the Syrian regime and the resurgent Islamic State."
Ghosts of Aleppo - Part 3 “As head of the Islamic Front`s police force in Aleppo, Abu Abdul Razak is responsible for law and order in the besieged city. VICE News followed him and his men on a night patrol through Aleppo`s deserted streets”.
Ghosts of Aleppo - Part 4 “VICE News accompanied the Islamic Front through their underground tunnels, which they use to move through the city and to bomb enemy positions from below”
Activist: Airstrikes won`t eliminate ISIS Syrian activist Zaidoun Al Zoabi talks to CNN`s Anderson Cooper about airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria.
اللبواني في لقاء ناري : لست عميلاً لإسرائيل ولن أعتذر ! Kamal Al-Labwani, considered one of the most prominent members of the Syrian opposition movement, talks from Israel to defend his visit to Israel and he refuses to apologize.
Arabic
صور الأقمار الصناعية تكشف الدمار الذي أصاب إرث سوريا الحضاري
Five out of six of Syria`s UNESCO World Heritage sites have been "significantly" damaged by the country`s civil war, satellite image analysis has revealed.
The English translation of this article:
من هي "جماعة خراسان".. ولماذا استهدفتها أميركا؟
Abdullah Sulaiman Ali investigates the reality of "the Khorasan group," an ambiguous group was allegedly preparing for a "terrorist attack" according to US officials.
الاعتداءات على السوريين: الأمن الذاتي في كل مكان
Nidal Ayoub shares several stories of Syrian men who are victims of arbitrary violence by civilian groups in Lebanon that track and attack Syrians after sunset in order to impose curfew on Syrian nationals.
مؤسسات المجتمع المدني السوري ومشكلة الاستدامة
Dler Yossef writes about the civil society organizations that were established in the context of the Syrian Uprising and the difficulties and challenges that they face.
الإعلام السوري: الغارات الأميركية وقعت في المريخ
Sohaib Enjrainy criticizes the ways in which the formal Syrian media outlets cover the news of the American-led coalition attacking ISIS within Syria`s borders.
العقيد السوري المنشق رياض الأسعد: الغارات الدولية غطاء لتقدم الأسد.. وما خفي أعظم
Riad Mousa al-Asaad (who served as the commander of the Free Syrian Army) condemns the American-led coalition’s attack against opposition armed groups claiming that such attack will strengthen the Syrian regime.
لاجئون سوريون يرفضون مغادرة السفينة التي انقذتهم
The BBC reports that 350 Syrian refugees rejected to leave the Cypriot ship that rescued them near the coast of Cyprus and insisted to continue their trip to Italy.
قراءة في قانون المحكمة الدستورية العليا في سورية
Michal Shammas, the active lawyer in the field of human rights and the defense of freedoms, provides in this article a legal analysis of the Law of the Supreme Constitutional Court in Syria from a human rights perspective.
سوريا: حرية التعبير في عهدة الدانماركيين
Walid Baraksah writes about the Danish support for post-uprising Syrian alternative media by funding the Syrian Network of Print-media.
كلهم حلفاؤك يا أميركا
Houmam Daoud criticizes the allies of the U.S in its military campaign against ISIS.
مخاوف من نزوح 400 ألف شخص من شمال سوريا مع تقدم "داعش"
UNHCR warns that an estimated numbers of 400,000 Syrian/Kurdish people might become refugees in Turkey with the advance of ISIS in the northern region of Syria.
تقدم داعش في كوباني يثير الشكوك والتساؤلات
Mohammed al-Khatieb writes about The Islamic State’s offensive against the Kurdish stronghold of Kobani, which happened “only days after the People’s Protection Units formed an alliance with local Syrian rebel brigades to confront the terrorist group.”
The English translation of this article:
دمشق تبكي الحكواتي الأخير Damascus cries the last Hakawati (storyteller) in the city who passed away a few days ago after decades of amusing people and tourists at Al-Nofara, on of the Oldest Cafe in the city.