REPRISE—A prayer for the children of Syria
First published December 24, 2012 Prayer for an Alawite Child I understand, Just like me, you want to be happy, Just like me, you…
human rights
Putin calls Trump, is reassured, and resumes bombing in Syria
Developing See Christina Hebel und Christoph Sydow (Moskau und Berlin), “Putins Botschaft an Trump; Sie haben sich Zusammenarbeit zugesagt, doch während Donald Trump sich auf…
President-elect Trump, foreign policy, and the defense of core American values
Developing Given Donald Trump’s inexperience in foreign policy, he may not understand or appreciate certain fundamental principles and realities that are essential for the maintenance…
The full catastrophe — The election of Donald Trump: Hopes, illusions and reality
Donald Trump has won an electoral victory in the November 8 , 2016 presidential elections, despite the fact that Hillary Clinton won a majority of…
REPRISE: Veterans’ Day, 2011: “Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?”
Originally published November 11, 2011 My uncle died in a field in northern France with a German bullet in his head. To him, and all…
Europe’s shame: EU response to Russian war crimes in Aleppo and Syria
Developing The leaders of the EU have reached their decision on how to respond to Russian war crimes in Aleppo and northern Syria. They are…
War news from Syria
While President Obama and other Western leaders look away from the horror, the terror of Russian and Syrian war crimes in Syria contnues, every day….
Watch the ball move: Obama moves attention to Mosul, distracting from abject appeasement by Merkel, EU, and U.S. in response to ongoing Russian war crimes in Aleppo and Syria
Developing Appeasement has many colors and takes many forms. In the last few days, it has taken the form in Europe of shifting the focus…
Personal Takes: Russian war crimes in Syria, appeasement, and disgust
Developing PERSONAL TAKES Once in a while, The Observer reflects on his own personal involvement in world events. Today’s news triggered such a reflection. The…
Cherif Bassiouni, top expert on war crimes, confirms Russians and Iranians, including Putin, responsible for war crimes in Syria if they were aware of operations
Developing See Josh Rogin, “Putin and Assad could face justice for war crimes in Syria, Washington Post, October 9, 2016 (7:53 p.m. EDT). Julian Borger,…