Syria

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Assad: I May Run Again Next Year

But not if Syrians don't want me: interview

(Newser) - Syrian president Bashar Assad says it's still too early to say whether he'll run for re-election in next year's presidential vote. Assad says "the picture will be clearer" in the next four to five months because Syria is going though "rapid" changes on the ground....

Aid Barred From Gassed, Starved Syrian Town

'Let them starve,' says one pro-regime fighter

(Newser) - A month after a sarin gas attack in Moadhamiya outside Damascus, Syrian officials have blocked aid workers from getting food and medical supplies into the town, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some 12,000 residents, including some rebel fighters, have been forced to forage, picking olives, vine leaves, figs, and...

Syria's Assad: I'll Comply With UN Resolution

Says he's open to talks with opposition if they give up their arms

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad is vowing to stand by the terms of the United Nations' resolution last week to destroy Syria's chemical weapons, reports the AP . "Of course we have to comply," he told Italian television in an interview today. "This is our history to comply with every...

Syria's Weapons Inspections Start Next Week

Security Council adopts resolution, though it doesn't include penalties

(Newser) - The first international inspectors will be on the ground in Syria Tuesday to start assessing the nation's chemical weapons, reports Reuters . The move is part of a UN resolution adopted unanimously last night by the 15-member Security Council demanding that Bashar al-Assad's illegal arsenal be destroyed. The AP...

Russia Will Send Troops to Syria's Chemical Sites

5 key members of Security Council reach a deal on resolution

(Newser) - The five permanent members of the UN Security Council have finally agreed on the wording of a resolution that requires Syria to destroy its chemical weapons, reports the New York Times . As part of the deal worked out mainly between the US and Russia, Moscow and some former Soviet republics...

Syrian Rebels Disavow Western-Backed Leaders

Groups want Sharia as basis for all law

(Newser) - Some of Syria's most powerful rebel groups have disavowed the Western-backed National Syrian Coalition's government in exile, in a move that may further complicate efforts to find a diplomatic resolution to the country's civil war. Thirteen groups, spearheaded by the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front, released a statement last...

Assad's Chemical Weapons List 'Surprisingly Thorough'

Officials call it a 'serious document'

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad handed over a document containing the locations of "dozens" of chemical weapons sites over the weekend, and it's apparently not half bad. Western officials yesterday categorized it as a "serious document" that's many pages in length and, in the words of the Los Angeles ...

Obama: We Must Talk With Iran

President touches on Syria, Egypt, Israel/Palestine in wide-ranging UN speech

(Newser) - President Obama is directing John Kerry to pursue fresh negotiations with Iran, the commander in chief announced today in a wide-ranging UN speech that also dealt extensively with the US position on Syria and other parts of the Middle East. Obama said that statements from President Rouhani and Ayatollah Khamenei...

Can Syria Really Wipe Out Chemical Weapons in a Year?

After all, US has spent decades on the process

(Newser) - The US has spent decades ridding itself of a chemical weapons stash that dates back to 1917, using all sorts of methods to achieve disarmament—yet the plan for Syria calls for wiping out its chemical weapons by next year. What's more, Syria's got to take action amid...

Al-Qaeda Militants Capture Syrian Town—From Rival Rebels

It's more evidence of infighting among Assad's enemies

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda militants seized a town near the Turkish border today after expelling Western-backed rebels from the area, demonstrating the growing power of jihadis as they seek to expand their influence across opposition-held Syrian territory. The infighting—now engulfing many parts of northern Syria—threatened to further split opposition forces outgunned...

For the Record, Obama Has Done Pretty Well on Syria

But you wouldn't know that from all his critics: David Ignatius

(Newser) - The many, many critics of President Obama's Syria strategy say it has amounted to nothing short of a national embarrassment. Which David Ignatius of the Washington Post find a little "puzzling" given how things have worked out. The threat of force got Russia invested in a resolution, got...

Looks Like Syria Will Miss First Arms-Deal Deadline

Plus: Pentagon says US could train some rebels

(Newser) - Syria probably won't get a full inventory of its chemical weapons to international authorities by Saturday, as proposed—but the US, it seems, isn't panicking. "Our goal is to see forward momentum," rather than the whole inventory, by Saturday, says a State Department rep. "We'...

Assad Scoffs: 'Anyone Can Make Sarin in His House'

He tells Fox News his regime isn't to blame

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad continues making the interview rounds and denying that his regime used chemical weapons. In the latest sit-down—conducted by Fox News , with former congressman Dennis Kucinich as one of the interviewers—the Syrian leader said it will take about a year to destroy his chemical stockpile, reports NPR...

Obama's New Hurdle: Ticked-Off Democrats

Opposition has centered on Syria, NSA, Summers

(Newser) - House Republicans haven't made things easy for President Obama—but now, he's facing hurdles within his own party. The New York Times notes that liberals have lately disagreed with Obama on Syria, NSA surveillance, and the consideration of Larry Summers for the Fed chairmanship; they're also unhappy...

Russia Rips UN's Syria Report: 'Biased,' 'One-Sided'

Says it has evidence rebels used chemical weapons—courtesy of Assad

(Newser) - Just when it seemed like the US and Russia were suspiciously close to seeing eye-to-eye on Syria, things move back to more familiar territory. A Russian government minister has slammed the UN report findings that chemical weapons were used in Syria as "biased and one-sided," while claiming it...

How the White House Backed Into a Syria Solution

'WSJ' goes behind the scenes

(Newser) - In a nearly 3,000-word article, the Wall Street Journal today takes readers inside what it calls "an extraordinary 24 days in international diplomacy," detailing what happened behind the scenes as the White House decided how to handle the Syrian chemical weapons crisis. Based on more than two...

Assad Comes Out on Top in Syria Deal
 Assad Comes 
 Out on Top in 
 Syria Deal 
OPINION
Sep 16, 2013 11:47 AM CDT

Assad Comes Out on Top in Syria Deal

Putin now 'US ambassador to Syria': GOP senator

(Newser) - Following the US-Russia agreement on Syrian chemical disarmament, plenty of political insiders are furious with the Obama administration—but the White House has its defenders. What the media is saying:
  • At Bloomberg , Jeffrey Goldberg sees a major victory for Bashar al-Assad: "The US has in a perverse way made
...

UN: 'Clear, Convincing' Proof of Chemical Attack

Both sides have committed war crimes, another panel concludes

(Newser) - There's "clear and convincing evidence" that surface-to-air rockets loaded with sarin gas rained down on the Ghouta area of Damascus last month, UN weapons inspectors announced today. The panel concluded that chemical weapons have been used "against civilians, including children, on a relatively large scale." The...

Kerry to Syria: 'Threat of Force Is Real'

Secretary warns of consequences if US-Russia deal isn't carried out

(Newser) - Secretary of State John Kerry today sent a strong warning to Syria, saying "the threat of force is real" if it does not carry out an internationally brokered agreement to hand over its chemical weapons. Kerry issued the warning during a stop in Jerusalem, where he briefed jittery Israeli...

Obama: Syria Deal Not About &#39;Style&#39;
 Obama: 
 Syria Deal 
 Not About 'Style' 
ABC INTERVIEW
Sep 15, 2013 8:52 AM CDT

Obama: Syria Deal Not About 'Style'

Emphasizes it was more important to get the policy right

(Newser) - The road to the Syria chemical weapons deal may have been bumpy, but President Obama insists that he's "less concerned about style points" and "much more concerned with getting the policy right," he tells George Stephanopoulos this morning on ABC's This Week . “Folks here...

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