The most serious attempt to bring the Syrian regime and representatives of the opposition together around a negotiating table together took place at the 2014 Geneva II peace talks. The talks were based…
It’s now just over a year since Barack Obama turned down the option of air strikes in response to Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons, and instead demanded that Syria accede to the Chemical Weapons…
During his October visit to the UK, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani had to fight to convince the British government that Qatar stands firmly against Islamic State (IS). Despite his efforts…
Eyeball to eyeball: Putin on state business with Turkey’s Recep Erdoğan.
EPA
In this latest instalment in our series on Russia’s relations with its neighbours, we head south-east to Turkey. The former centre of the Ottoman Empire has been booming in the past decade – and Russia…
An Australian Super Hornet refuels from a KC30 tanker while flying over Iraq.
@VCDF_Australia/Twitter
There are two reasons why we should ignore the growing calls in the United States, Canada and Australia for Western “boots on ground” – meaning ground troops – to fight and destroy the Islamic State (IS…
‘The danger is clear’: Theresa May.
Joe Giddens/PA Wire
A few hours before the UK’s first air strikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq, the home secretary, Theresa May, warned the Tory party conference that IS could become the "world’s first truly…
Over it: Iranian president Hassan Rouhani (L) and his foreign minister Javad Zarif.
EPA/STR
Since Hassan Rouhani was elected Iran’s president in June 2013, relations between Iran and the United States have significantly improved – though they remain very fragile. To explain why, most analysts…
An international Red Crescent aid truck sponsored by Syria’s government.
Syrian Arab News Agency/EPA
Black-clad fighters, suffering refugees and Western warplanes overhead – these are the mainstays of Iraq and Syria coverage as the Islamic State (IS) continues its campaign. Notably absent from debates…
The UN Security Council made a little bit of history this week when it passed Resolution 2165. It allows the humanitarian aid to be delivered to rebel-held areas of Syria without government approval. Instead…
One big security issue that has arisen lately concerns control of news media. National boundaries have become blurred on the internet, and the control any nation can have over information dissemination…
Syrians have the option to vote in their own blood to show commitment.
EPA/Youssef Badawi
There are three candidates running in Syria’s presidential election: the incumbent, Bashar al-Assad and two challengers, Maher Hajjar and Hassan al-Nouri. In reality there is only one, Assad. The other…
After destroying towns and cities, Syria’s civil war is spilling into Lebanon.
Christiaan Triebert
The second round of the Geneva II talks on Syria have ended with no agreement and without even a decision on the date of a further meeting. The highly experienced UN mediator, Lakhdar Brahimi, was clearly…
Where would we be without Godwin’s Law? This law, formulated for the internet, dictates that as a discussion progresses, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1. And, as…
Who said what? ‘Gratitude is a sickness suffered by dogs’ and ‘Necessity has no law’.
Wikimedia Commons
Imagine if there were a premier league for tyrants and totalitarian dictators. Who exactly was the biggest genocidal maniac? Was it Stalin, or Hitler, or Pol Pot, or…? However you add it up, especially…
US president Barack Obama addressed a doubting nation and Congress last night.
EPA/Michael Reynolds
On Tuesday night Washington time, US president Barack Obama made a public plea to Congress to authorise a military action in Syria that he probably doesn’t want. The tell-tale sign Obama doesn’t actually…
Allegations of chemical weapon use by the Assad regime is leading to calls for Western intervention.
EPA/STR
Those who thought US president Barack Obama was chastened by his failure to subdue the Taliban in Afghanistan and his decision to “lead from behind” in Libya expected the White House to be less overtly…
The emerging divisions between the various Syrian rebel groups is threatening to give the government forces the upper hand in the ongoing conflict.
EPA/STR
For Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, the recent murder of Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander Abu Basir by Islamist State of Iraq (ISI) militants must have felt like his birthday had come early. The assassination…
Will the decision by the EU to lift its embargo on arming Syrian rebels be a game-changer for the ongoing conflict?
EPA/Maysun
The bloodbath in Syria continues apace and the decision by the European Union to provide arms to some rebel groups ensures that fighting will grow only more intense. The hotly contested removal of the…
Are international talks that bring all parties in the Syrian civil war to the table the only solution to the ongoing conflict?
EPA/Malasun
A great level of cynicism has been pervading the ongoing conflict in Syria. This is seen in the manipulation of the crisis by Syria’s neighbours, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and the superpowers…
The resignation of Syrian opposition leader Moaz Al-Khatib (centre) has plunged the war-torn nation into fresh political tumult.
EPA/STR
Political upheaval within the Syrian National Council (SNC) is worsening the chaos that has defined Syria for the past two years. In recent times, we’ve also seen allegations of chemical weapon use and…
Associate Professor in Islamic Studies, Director of The Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation and Executive Member of Public and Contextual Theology, Charles Sturt University