Counting the dead ... more than 92 people, including 32 children, were massacred in the town of Houla. Photo: Reuters
Syria Analysis: Will The Houla Massacre Prove A Throw Of The Dice Too Far For The Assads? -- Richard Spencer, The Telegraph
The Syrian regime works on the assumption that the messier this becomes, the lower the chances of intervention to stop it, writes Richard Spencer.
All wars unleash their demons. Srebenica, Halabja, My Lai, and now, Houla: they seem unbelievable at the time, but when the truth is extracted from the fog, it is often worse than imagined.
At some point, witnesses - which in the digital age means all of us - have to force into our heads the idea that a recognisable human being decided to unpin the grenade, or swing the machine gun turret, or wield the knife.
How did it get there, the mentality that could apply the blade to the throats of children seized at random, as they apparently were in Houla on Friday?
To understand this is to understand the trajectory of civil war, and in this case the tactics of the Assad regime.
Read more ....
Yemen must not be allowed to become another Somalia -- David Hearst, The Guardian
Al Qaeda’s ‘Final Trap’ in Yemen: Costly Demise Planned for U.S. -- Bruce Riedel, The Daily Beast
Pakistan is turning into another Afghanistan -- Haroon Siddiqui, Toronto Star
Just say no to Pakistan's extortion -- Christian Whiton, FOX News
Shakil Afridi Helped U.S. Get Osama—So Why Is He In Prison? -- IBD Editorial
Infighting at the Iran Nuclear Talks -- Laura Rozen, Al-Monitor
Iran’s hard bargain -- Washington Post editorial
The Realist Prism: Can U.S. and Iran Get to Yes on Nuclear Deal? -- Nikolas Gvosdev, World Politics Review
The undeclared war on Ir
How did it get there, the mentality that could apply the blade to the throats of children seized at random, as they apparently were in Houla on Friday?
To understand this is to understand the trajectory of civil war, and in this case the tactics of the Assad regime.
Read more ....
Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
Yemen must not be allowed to become another Somalia -- David Hearst, The Guardian
Al Qaeda’s ‘Final Trap’ in Yemen: Costly Demise Planned for U.S. -- Bruce Riedel, The Daily Beast
Pakistan is turning into another Afghanistan -- Haroon Siddiqui, Toronto Star
Just say no to Pakistan's extortion -- Christian Whiton, FOX News
Shakil Afridi Helped U.S. Get Osama—So Why Is He In Prison? -- IBD Editorial
Infighting at the Iran Nuclear Talks -- Laura Rozen, Al-Monitor
Iran’s hard bargain -- Washington Post editorial
The Realist Prism: Can U.S. and Iran Get to Yes on Nuclear Deal? -- Nikolas Gvosdev, World Politics Review
The undeclared war on Ir
Al Qaeda’s ‘Final Trap’ in Yemen: Costly Demise Planned for U.S. -- Bruce Riedel, The Daily Beast
Pakistan is turning into another Afghanistan -- Haroon Siddiqui, Toronto Star
Just say no to Pakistan's extortion -- Christian Whiton, FOX News
Shakil Afridi Helped U.S. Get Osama—So Why Is He In Prison? -- IBD Editorial
Infighting at the Iran Nuclear Talks -- Laura Rozen, Al-Monitor
Iran’s hard bargain -- Washington Post editorial
The Realist Prism: Can U.S. and Iran Get to Yes on Nuclear Deal? -- Nikolas Gvosdev, World Politics Review
The undeclared war on Iran’s nuclear program -- Paul Koring, Globe and Mail
Laying the Foundations for Preemptive Nuclear War Against Iran -- Nile Bowie, Global Research
Egypt: surprise, but not catastrophe -- The Guardian editorial
The Greeks Can't Have Their Cake and Eat It Too -- Spiegel Online
New Spanish Finance Horrors Shock The World -- Walter Russell Mead, American Interest
Pakistan is turning into another Afghanistan -- Haroon Siddiqui, Toronto Star
Just say no to Pakistan's extortion -- Christian Whiton, FOX News
Shakil Afridi Helped U.S. Get Osama—So Why Is He In Prison? -- IBD Editorial
Infighting at the Iran Nuclear Talks -- Laura Rozen, Al-Monitor
Iran’s hard bargain -- Washington Post editorial
The Realist Prism: Can U.S. and Iran Get to Yes on Nuclear Deal? -- Nikolas Gvosdev, World Politics Review
The undeclared war on Iran’s nuclear program -- Paul Koring, Globe and Mail
Laying the Foundations for Preemptive Nuclear War Against Iran -- Nile Bowie, Global Research
Egypt: surprise, but not catastrophe -- The Guardian editorial
The Greeks Can't Have Their Cake and Eat It Too -- Spiegel Online
New Spanish Finance Horrors Shock The World -- Walter Russell Mead, American Interest