Syria’s Civil War: The Regime Digs In -- The Economist
President Bashar Assad and his forces have won a new lease of life.
“YA GHALI,” says a driver greeting the soldier manning a checkpoint of concrete blocks painted with the Syrian flag and plastered with pictures of Bashar Assad in regime-controlled central Damascus. This salutation was never in use in the capital before the war but is now standard at checkpoints. “Ghali”, or precious, is used in the coastal homeland of the Alawites, the sect from which Mr Assad hails. It is a sign both that the president is in control here and that, for all its talk of a state for all of Syria’s communities, his regime has been largely reduced to a sectarian militia, though the most powerful in the country.
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
Viewpoints: Arming the rebel groups in Syria -- BBC
US military aid to Syria rebels: Why Obama is starting with the minimum -- Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor
Peace untenable with Al Assad around -- Khalid Saleh, Gulf News
Peace in Syria? Talk to Iran -- Banafsheh Keynoush, Special for CNN
Iran elections: there's room for surprise, but the system will win out -- Michael Axworthy, The Guardian
Turkey’s agony – how Erdogan turned a peaceful protest into a violent nightmare -- Claire Berlinski, The Spectator
The reluctant hegemon: If Europe’s economies are to recover, Germany must start to lead -- The Economist
Nicaragua still thinks it can build a better canal than Panama after 200 years of trying -- Simone Foxman, Quartz
The ‘Cubanization’ of Venezuela -- Jose R. Cardenas, Washington Times
Can the NSA convince Americans to surrender privacy concerns? -- Aliyah Frumin, MSNBC
James Clapper’s ‘least untruthful’ answer -- Ruth Marcus, Washington Post
Edward Snowden's worst fear has not been realised – thankfully -- Glenn Greenwald, The Guardian
As public concerns grow, Congress spooked over spying -- David Lightman, McClatchy Washington Bureau
Why America's Shale Oil Boom Could End Sooner Than You Think -- Christopher Helman, Forbes