In an attempt to clarify questions about the Syrian ceasefire, and the Nusra Front not being a party to it, Secretary of State John Kerry today offered more details, confirming that the US and Russia needed to provide joint permission before the Syrian government was allowed to launch any airstrikes. read on...
In a speech at the Herzliya Conference, Israel’s military intelligence chief, Major General Herzi Halevy, took Israel’s long-standing position that it “prefers ISIS” over the Syrian government to a whole ‘nother level, declaring openly that Israel does not want to see ISIS defeated in the war.
Quoted in the Hebrew-language NRG site, linked to Maariv, Maj. Gen. Halevy expressed concern about the recent offensives against ISIS territory, saying that in the last three months the Islamist group was facing the “most difficult” situation since its inception and declaration of a caliphate. read on...
While her speech today at the American Jewish Committee Global Forum included some vague criticism of ongoing Israeli settlement expansion, as usual that will have no impact on US policy, as National Security Adviser Susan Rice centered the speech on pledges of a record military aid package being agreed to soon.
White House officials are complaining of being “concerned” by recent media reports of Russia shifting its artillery further north in Syria, with suggestions they were moving to back the Syrian military in renewed offensives against al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front.
Even though al-Qaeda was deliberately not included in the Syrian ceasefire, the rebels have presented Syrian strikes on them as “violations” of the truce, and the US seems to be siding with them, suggesting the latest moves are “aggression” on the part of the Russians. read on...
From the moment the first Russian warplanes started launching attacks inside Syria, a new campaign in the information war was also launched, with various groups trying to get their stamps on conflicting stories about what exactly Russia attacked, whether they hit ISIS, ISIS allies, pro-US rebels, or just random Syrian civilians. read on...
