[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.]
Regional and International Perspectives
Syria And The Future of Authoritarianism Steven Heydemann examines “ the role of war as a catalyst for authoritarian restructuring in Syria, and the obstacles that this process poses for political reform”
Al Qaeda`s Syrian Strategy Barak Barfi and Aaron Y. Zelin write: “ISIS has embarked on al Qaeda`s most comprehensive campaign yet to win Arab hearts and minds by providing social services to a war-ravaged society. But though the organization`s star is ascendant, its abuses, coupled with an international strategy to limit its influence, could still torpedo its plan to transform northern Syria into an Islamic emirate under its command.”
Thousands Of Syrian Refugees in Bekaa Face Merciless Winter Rasha Chams meets with refugees, who tell her about the unbearable costs of living in Chtaura.
Our People Are Paying the Price For Obama`s Deals Elias Harfoush says that “as a result of all this American hesitation in our region, some stubborn and oppressive regimes have succeeded in staying in power and maintaining the grip of their forces and their “guards” over their people via fictitious deals with Washington.”
Who Is Funding Syria`s Hardliners The author suggests that “what is suspicious about the story of the rise of hardline extremist groups is that they do not target the Assad regime.”
An Invention of Assad`s Media Machine Mshari Al-Zaydi similarly contends that “the existence of those Takfirists among Bashar’s enemies is something that does a great favor and pleases Bashar himself”
Assad: Hamas Has Betrayed Us Repeatedly, But…Elie Chalhoub reviews the Syrian regime’s relationship to various states and groups, to give an idea of the current state of mind of the Syrian president.
Turkey`s Spymaster Plots Own Course On Syria Adam Entous and Joe Parkinson write about “Hakan Fidan, Turkey`s powerful spymaster and a driving force behind its efforts to supply the rebels and topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.”
Syrian Narratives
Prospects For Syria Are Growing Bleaker Michel Kilo says “there are two worrisome phenomena in Syria: First, the media campaign targeting the Syrian National Coalition, damaging its reputation and accusing it of being a sell-out regarding its attitude towards Geneva II. Secondly, the creation of a military alliance under the name of the “Islamist Army,” with which Islamist organizations intend to replace the “National Army” or render it superfluous.”
Syrie : changements socio économiques, impacts et conséquences Joseph Daher provides an overview of the socio-economic changes in Syria in the past decades as a means of explaining the current crisis in Syria.
Publishing Is Another Victim of Syria`s Civil War M. Lynx Qualey discusses the matter with Osama Esber, “who founded the Dar Bidayat publishing house in Damascus in 2004.”
Why The West is Wrong on Syria Razan Zaitouneh writes : “The West pretends to be protecting the minorities, yet has allowed the regime to wage a sectarian war against the majority of Syrians for two and a half years now.”
Qui Veut Vraiment Aller a Geneve et Pourquoi? Etat Des Lieux Ignace Leverrier on the actors eager to take part to a peace conference in Geneva and their motives.
Jihadists See Syria Insurgency As Just the Beginning of A Middle East Revolution, claim Loveday Morris, Joby Warrick and Souad Mekhennet.
Avant même la fin de la guerre en Syrie, des juristes songent à un tribunal A piece on how legal experts are already envisioning a tribunal for the war crimes being committed in Syria.
Trapped in a Town Under Siege, Syrian Children Are Eating Leaves to Survive Zack Baddorf on the starvation of children in the outskirts of Damascus.
Syrie. Les chrétiens prennent à leur manière une part active à la révolution Ignace Leverrier profiles and interviews Ayman Abdel-Nour, the creator of All4Syria.
Syrian Uprising`s Cautionary Tale Arnab Neil Sengupta says “no matter what the outcome of the Syrian uprising, political activists around the world cannot ignore its lasting lessons before sounding the clarion call for another revolution.”
Syria rebel rifts deepen as Islamist ranks swell Lina Sinjab says “although the fighting might appear to be evidence of the increasing fragmentation of the armed opposition to President Bashar al-Assad, for many observers it is the first clear sign of a backlash against al-Qaeda`s presence in Syria.”
Inside Syria
Mourning Syrian Soldier, but Not Doubting a War Anne Barnard attends a funeral in Daqaqa.
President Assad’s interview to Tishreen newspaper
In Rare Cease-Fire, Hundreds Evacuate Rebel-Held Syrian Town Anne Barnard says “hundreds of people were allowed to leave a besieged, rebel-held suburb of Damascus, the Syrian capital, on Sunday in a rare cease-fire, according to the government and its opponents.”
Les Debuts du `Djihad Familial` en Syrie A family of 150 Kazakhs allegedly left their country to launch jihad in Syria.
Car Bomb Explosion in Darkush, Idleb
Rebels and Activists Fight Sectarian Strife in South Marlin Dick writes about the small town of Mseifereh.
In Syria, Motorists Press On, Yielding For War Anne Barnard reports from the North of Damascus.
Homs: A Tale of Two Cities James Harkin follows an “oppositionist” Syrian around town, assessing the impacts of the war on a now highly divided city.
Farewell to Syria, For a While Yassin al-Haj Saleh decided to leave Syrian and his anxious about his decision: “what frightens me most now is not to be able to understand the world outside Syria and for things to lose their clarity for me.”
Disabled People in Raqqa Without Care The author addresses the impacts of the war on an already marginalized segment of the population.
Syrian Interfaith Couples Face Difficulties As Sectarianism Rises A piece on how family divisions over the war has impacted interfaith couples.
1000 Civilians Evacuated from Mouadamiyah but Remain in Danger The National Coallition on the fate of civilians in this Damascus suburb.
Female activists, subject to harassment in liberated areas of Syria
Arts and Social Media
Photoblog: Back to School in Opposition-Controlled Aleppo
Photoblog: The Displaced From Salaheddine Quarter in Aleppo Return to Visit Their Homes
Photoblog: A Physiotherapy Center With Modest Equipment in Deir El-Zor
The Syrian Regime Kills A Cartoonist Cartoonists Rights Network International on the alleged fate of Akram Raslan.
Reporting From The Annual Conference For Arab Militias A satire by Karl Sharro.
Analyzing Events in Azaz - A Detailed Look At ISIS` Takeover Aymen Jawad al-Tamimi writes about developments in Azaz on Brown Moses’ blog.
Hizballah Executing Syrian Prisoners? - Analyzing the Video Phillip Smyth analyzes the video on Brown Moses’ blog, arguing that, “after close analysis, this clip may be the first substantial video evidence demonstrating Lebanese Hizballah and/or other Shia militia (primarily staffed by Iraqis) groups in Syria of conducting blatant human rights abuses.”
On One Day In Syria Commenting on the video, Husam Itani says “let us then stop exploiting Palestine, the Resistance, and the “bleeding wound in the body of the Arab nation”, and admit to the fact that most of this had consisted of metaphors for deep-seated conflicts that find only sectarian expressions in order to emerge.”
Policy and Reports
World Bank Proposes Four-Track Approach to Syrian Refugee Crisis Bassam Al Kantar reports that the World Bank Vice President for the MENA region Inger Andersen “proposed a four-track approach to dealing with the crisis, ruling out the possibility of Lebanon receiving large grants anytime soon, instead relying on existing programs and funding channels to remedy the situation.”
Gunmen Kidnap 7 Red Cross Workers in Syria
Executions, Hostage Taking By Rebels A video from Human Rights Watch.
Economy and Agriculture
Government to Industrialists: “Please Come Back” “The Government says Syria had lost $3 billion in industry since the uprising against the Assad regime began in March 2011”
Budget Shopping in Damascus On the skyrocketing prices in the Bab al-Jabiya market in Damascus.
Exchange Company Crackdown Sees Arrests, Closures “A severe crackdown by Syrian authorities against money exchange offices to curn illegal money exchange in Damascus is underway, with a series of office closures and arrests, SANA news agency has reported.”
Arabic
جبهة القلمون: مواجهة مؤجلة
Omar Harqous on Hezbollah possibly starting a battle in the north of the Damascus Rif.
دمشق...رهينة الحواجز
Kamal Shikho on the new lifestyle Syrians have to adapt to in Damascus with all the checkpoints that have been put in the city.
«السويداء على خطوط التماس: زمن التكفير و«المحنة
Feras Asshoufi offers his perspective on the situation in the Syrian city of Suwaida.
باريس تريد تغيير هيكلية عمل الجيش السوري الحر
Bassam Attayyara writes: “Paris wants to change the working structure of the Free Syrian Army.”
جهاديون بلا حدود: إسرائيلي يحارب في صفوف "جبهة النصرة" بسوريا
Wassim Naser on the Jihadist fightings in Syria.
واشنطن تغض النظر عن التسليح الخليجي
Mohammad Ballout on the United States policy towards Syria and the take of Syrian opposition members on it.
التسوية الكيميائية ونهاية موسم التوت
Tarek Azizeh discusses the chemical weapons settlement, the American strike and the stance of the opposition from that day.
ما وراء دولة داعش في سورية؟
Al-Hayat reports on the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham.
بين «لاءات» النظام والمعارضة: من يمثّل من؟
Mohammad Ballout on the realities that the situation in Syrian has come to between the opposition and the regime.
حوار صاخب مع معارض سوري
Ismail al-Qasimi al-Hassani tells his perspective on the situation in Syria from his own personal experience and dialogues with opposition members.
سوريا تطوي صفحة «الكيميائي» وتشكيك أمــمي بتقرير الغوطة
Al-Akhbar reports: “Syria turns the ‘chemical’ page and national doubt is cast on the report of the Ghouta.”
لقاء سري في باريس يبحث في جنيف ٢
Bassam Attayyara on a possible secret meeting in Paris about Geneva 2.
!!حلب عاصمة الخلافة الجديدة
Naya Hassan offers her take on the situation in Aleppo.
الطائفية بين الدوافع والوقائع
Abdel Hassan al-Amin on sectarianism.
نهاية الحلم القطري
Asad Abukhalil on “the end of the Qatari dream”.
في ذكرى حرب تشرين : هكذا باع النظام السوري أسراه المغدورين في سجون العدو
Nizar Nayouf on the October war and the realities of its aftermath.
تركيا تبني جدارا على الحدود مع سوريا
BBC reports that Turkey is building a wall on its borders with Syria.
منظمة الكيميائي»: فريق ثانٍ من المفتشين إلى سوريا قريباً»
According to AFP, a second team of inspectors will arrive to Syria soon.
الحرية المغدورة
Maataz Hisso theorizes on the situation in Syria.
التقارب الأميركي ـ الإيراني: أحجار كثيرة على الطريق
Mostapha Allabbad on the improving relations between the U.S and Iran.
عن الأمن القومي الكردستاني: من هولير إلى سري كانيه
Sherazad Ali al-Yazidi on the Kurdistan “national security”.
المليارات تتدفق لتسليح المقاتلين وحرائر سورية ضحايا لتجار البشر
Abdelbari Atwan states that while billions are being spent on arming the fighters in Syria, the situation of Syrian refugees in a place like al-Zaatari camp continues to deteriorate.
حكاية خليل معتوق
Wael Assawwah on the story behind the disappearance of Lawyer Khalil Maatouq.
هيئة التنسيق ترد على اكاذيب علي حيدر وتؤكد المخابرات الجوية تعتقل عبد العزيز الخير
Mounzer Khaddam responds to the allegations and lies made up about Abdelaziz al-Khayyer.
أربع حروب أهلية ونظام جائر وقوى إقليمية ترسل مقاتليها
Baderkhan Ali on the disagreements on whether one could deem the situation in Syria as “civil war” or “revolution”.
توقيف سليمان الأسد يريح اللاذقية
Anas al-Homsi on the news of the capture of Sulaiman al-Assad in Latakia, the son of the leader of National Defence Force.
تأملات ناشط حول الانتفاضة السورية: حوار مع عبد القادر الدهون
Bassam Haddad talks to Abdel Qader Addahoun about the Syrian upsrising.
