It was understandable, even if unadvisable, for Ankara to put its weight behind the Syrian uprising when largely peaceful Sunni protests first erupted in the countryside. The Arab Spring was in full force; history was turning a new leaf. Tunisia and Egypt had been epic revolutions, at least initially. Libya was more tragic. But even if it diverged from the narrative, it allowed outside powers a manner of relevance and, more importantly, set the NATO precedent for long-time non-conformists. Syria did, for all intents and purposes, seem next. And Erdogan wanted to be on the right side of history. Continue reading
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The Middle East is changing forever
Posted on June 17, 2013 by Shahab Jafry
Enough about Hezbollah’s presence in Qusayr, please. Of course the Syrian opposition and their sponsors didn’t expect Hezbollah to stay away, not the least because the US, EU, GCC and Turkey turned a blind eye to, if not actually facilitated, thousands of al Qaeda jihadis from about 40 countries pouring into Syria in their two-and-a-half year bid to unseat Bashar al Assad. The uproar is more frustration than concern. Continue reading →