Latest news with #al-Qaeda
Al Arabiya
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
US envoy urges Syria's al-Sharaa to revise policy or risk fragmentation
A US envoy has urged Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to recalibrate his policies and embrace a more inclusive approach after a new round of sectarian bloodshed last week, or risk losing international support and fragmenting the country. US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said he had advised Sharaa in private discussions to revisit elements of the pre-war army structure, scale back Islamist indoctrination and seek regional security assistance. In an interview in Beirut, Barrack told Reuters that without swift change, Sharaa risks losing the momentum that once propelled him to power. Sharaa should say: 'I'm going to adapt quickly, because if I don't adapt quickly, I'm going to lose the energy of the universe that was behind me,' Barrack said. He said Sharaa could 'grow up as a president and say, 'the right thing for me to do is not to follow my theme, which isn't working so well.'' Sharaa, leader of a former al-Qaeda offshoot, came to power in Syria after guerilla fighters he led brought down Bashar al-Assad in December last year after more than 13 years of civil war. Sharaa has promised to protect members of Syria's many sectarian minorities. But that pledge has been challenged, first by mass killings of members of the Alawite sect in March, and now by the latest violence in the southwest. Hundreds of people have been reported killed in clashes in the southern province of Sweida between Druze fighters, Bedouin tribes and Sharaa's own forces. Israel intervened with airstrikes to prevent what it said was mass killing of Druze by government forces. Barrack said the new government should consider being 'more inclusive quicker' when it comes to integrating minorities into the ruling structure. But he also pushed back against reports that Syrian security forces were responsible for violations against Druze civilians. He suggested that ISIS militants may have been disguised in government uniforms and that social media videos are easily doctored and therefore unreliable. 'The Syrian troops haven't gone into the city. These atrocities that are happening are not happening by the Syrian regime troops. They're not even in the city because they agreed with Israel that they would not go in,' he said. 'No successor' to al-Sharaa The US helped broker a ceasefire last week that brought an end to the fighting, which erupted between Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze factions on July 13. Barrack said the stakes in Syria are dangerously high, with no succession plan or viable alternative to the country's new government. 'With this Syrian regime, there is no plan B. If this Syrian regime fails, somebody is trying to instigate it to fail,' Barrack said. 'For what purpose? There's no successor.' Asked if Syria could follow the dire scenarios of Libya and Afghanistan, he said: 'Yes, or even worse.' The US has said it did not support Israel's airstrikes on Syria. Barrack said the strikes had added to the 'confusion' in Syria. Israel says Syria's new rulers are dangerous militants and has vowed to keep government troops out of the southwest and protect Syria's Druze minority in the area, encouraged by calls from Israel's own Druze community. Barrack said his message to Israel is to have dialogue to alleviate their concerns about Syria's new leaders and that the US could play the role of an 'honest intermediary' to help resolve any concerns. He said al-Sharaa had signaled from the beginning of his rule that Israel was not his enemy and that he could normalize ties in due time. He said the United States was not dictating what the political format of Syria should be, other than stability, unity, fairness and inclusion. 'If they end up with a federalist government, that's their determination. And the answer to the question is, everybody may now need to adapt.'
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Syria's continuing turmoil: al-Sharaa, Druze and Israel
Over the past week, clashes between Druze and Sunni Bedouin militias in southern Syria's Suweida Governorate have left more than a 1,000 people dead. They have also triggered Israeli intervention, in favour of the minority Druze, including an airstrike on Syria's Ministry of Defense in Damascus on Wednesday. These developments underlie the complexity of the challenge facing Syria President Ahmed al-Sharaa: as he tries to pick the pieces of a bloody 14-year-long civil war, fissures within the Syrian body politic and external geopolitical pressures have put him in a very difficult situation. Distrustful minorities In his six months as President, Sharaa has publicly presented a singular focus: the integration of Syria's various ethnic/sectarian factions under the new Syrian flag. This is crucial for Syria's reconstruction and economic revival. But Sharaa's personal history — he was formerly an al-Qaeda leader and a designated US terrorist, and has been implicated in violence against Syrian minorities during the civil war — and inability/lack of intent to prevent sectarian violence has complicated this effort. Thus far, he has faced scrutiny on three fronts: the Alawites, the Kurds, and the Druze. Alawites: Residing primarily along Syria's Mediterranean coast, Alawites are the country's largest ethnic minority who served as the former President Bashar al-Assad's principal support base. Alawite areas have been a staging ground for last-ditch armed efforts by pro-Assad militias. Clashes with Syrian security forces in March led to the death of more than 1,500, mostly Alawite civilians and unarmed fighters. While Sharaa has promised an investigation, he has also repeatedly blamed the supporters of the former regime for the violence, and called them to disarm and surrender. Kurds: Like their counterparts in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, Syrian Kurds fiercely guard their distinct ethnic identity. An (uncomfortable) modus vivendi with the Assad regime in 2012 gave them a semi-autonomous civil administration (Rojava) with an armed wing (Syrian Democratic Forces; SDF) in oil-rich northeastern Syria. Sharaa has sought to bring the region under Damascus' direct control and maintained that the SDF needs to fully integrate itself with the Syrian Army. This led to daily clashes between the SDF and armed forces allied with Damascus till March, when the Kurds largely agreed to Sharaa's demands in exchange for specific protections. But the failure of Syria's interim constitution to specifically guarantee Kurdish rights has been viewed as a betrayal: the Kurds demand a longer timeline to implement the March agreement as well as American and French oversight. Israel, Syria & the Druze Around 500,000 Druze live in Syria, mostly in the Suweida Governorate. This historically persecuted ethno-religious minority has rejected the interim constitution, which would see the disarmament of all Druze militias and the imposition of Damascus' rule on the semi-autonomous Suweida Governate. But unlike the Alawites and the Kurds, Israel's interest in 'protecting' the Druze represents a fundamentally different challenge to Damascus. Israel is the home of some 150,000 Druze: there is a vocal, highly integrated Druze community in the Jewish country which has, in recent months, constantly pushed for Israeli intervention against Sharaa's 'imposition'. Israel itself sees the Druze as additional cover for its ongoing territorial expansion in southern Syria. Between December and July, Israel has repeatedly struck Syria in order to destroy its conventional military capabilities and expand its occupation of the Golan Heights. This, Israel says, is to ensure that hostile forces cannot use the region as a springboard for attacks on the country. The recent clashes between Druze and Bedouin militias, the latter of whom Israel claims is backed by Damascus and Sharaa, only gave the Jewish nation further justification to intensify its attacks until a US-brokered ceasefire on July 19. Despite Israeli aggression, Sharaa has refrained from taking an overly antagonistic position vis-à-vis his southern neighbour. In fact, Sharaa in May confirmed that Syria had been indirectly negotiating with Israel 'to pressure them to stop interfering in Syrian affairs.' Sharaa's reconciliatory tone has as much to do with his country's incapability to take on the Middle East's predominant military power, as it has to do with his domestic priorities. That said, Israel itself has repeatedly undercut Sharaa's position. In February, when Sharaa was convening the much-anticipated National Dialogue Conference with various tribal, ethnic and sectarian stakeholders, Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel 'will not allow… the new Syrian Army to enter the area south of Damascus', promising 'indefinite' Israeli presence in the demilitarised buffer zone — a direct challenge to Syria's sovereignty. The very same month, Netanyahu asserted that Israel will 'not tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria'. What this means Syria's Arab neighbours and Turkey have supported Sharaa's attempts at rebuilding Syria. Gulf states have repaid Syria's $15.5 million debt to the World Bank, successfully convinced the Trump administration to lift American sanctions on Syria, and have committed vast sums of money for Syria's reconstruction. This is fuelled both by their common interests in preventing an Iranian resurgence in the region — another factor that has driven Sharaa to negotiate with Israel — and a hope for a more stable neighbourhood. Israel's independent interests in Syria, however, hinder this regional effort and create what scholars call a 'broken windows' effect: instability and violence in one part of Syria risks further instability elsewhere. Broadly, strong ethnic and sectarian tensions continue to tug at Syria's peripheries while its political core in Damascus struggles with enforcing national unity. In the south specifically, Israel's military actions have supplemented Sharaa's pre-existing challenges. For the time being, it remains in Sharaa's continued interest to seek peace with Tel Aviv, leveraging Arab and Turkish support. However, the more pressure Israel exerts externally, the more Sharaa's position is weakened internally, spelling more instability for Syria, and the whole region. Bashir Ali Abbas is a Senior Research Associate at the Council for Strategic and Defense Research, New Delhi
India Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Why U.S. military power is trapped in a loop of its own making
They say history repeats itself — but in America's case, it sometimes refuses to end. From the trenches of Europe to the deserts of the Middle East, the United States has fought, and continues to fight, wars that blur the lines between defence and domination, justice and justification. A century after entering the First World War, American troops are still deployed in more than 80 countries. Some conflicts fade from the headlines — yet they never truly This is the story of America's forever wars — open-ended military operations with no clear victory, no fixed timeline, and too often, no meaningful public debate. From World War to World PoliceThe United States entered World War to 'make the world safe for democracy'. The century that followed tested that promise repeatedly. In the post-1945 world, America fought in Korea, Vietnam, Somalia, Panama, and beyond. Since 1945, the U.S. has used military force in over 100 foreign interventions — with wildly varying wars lasted weeks. Others spanned decades. The Korean War never ended — it merely paused with an armistice in 1953. U.S. troops are still stationed on the Korean peninsula, 70 years on. The Vietnam War left nearly 60,000 Americans and over 2 million Vietnamese dead, ending in scenes of chaos rather than Without EndThe Cold War may have ended in the 1990s, but the interventions did not. In 1989, the U.S. invaded Panama. In 1991, it launched Operation Desert Storm in Iraq. In 1993, American forces intervened in Somalia. In 1999, they bombed Yugoslavia. And then came the so-called War on the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. The justifications varied — from dismantling al-Qaeda to eliminating Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction. But those WMDs were never found. Instead, war became a permanent fixture of U.S. foreign became America's longest war — 20 years, 2,400 U.S. soldiers killed, and over 170,000 Afghan lives lost. Even after the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011, the war continued for another decade. In Iraq, over 4,500 U.S. troops died, alongside up to 500,000 Iraqis. The power vacuum after Saddam's fall enabled the rise of Syria, U.S. forces have operated since 2015 with no formal declaration of war. In Yemen, the U.S. has supported the Saudi-led coalition, supplying weapons and intelligence despite mounting civilian casualties and a deepening humanitarian Machinery of Perpetual WarWhy can't America stop fighting?advertisementCritics point to a blend of policy, politics, and profit. A crucial legal mechanism is the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) — passed in 2001, just days after 9/11. It has since been used by successive presidents to launch operations in 19 countries, bypassing Congress and public scrutiny. There is no geographic limit, no expiry date, no oversight. In effect, it's a blank cheque for numbers are staggering. Since 2001, the U.S. has spent over $8 trillion on its post-9/11 wars — including $2.3 trillion in Afghanistan and $1.9 trillion in Iraq and Syria. According to Brown University's Costs of War project, over 929,000 people have been killed in these wars, and more than 38 million have been aren't just financial or statistical costs. They are human Invisible War at HomeBut the impact isn't limited to foreign battlefields. The domestic consequences of perpetual war are profound. War, once a national emergency, has become background noise. There's no draft. No war tax. No shared burden. A small volunteer military fights overseas, while the rest of the country scrolls past the the Pentagon's budget keeps growing — topping $860 billion in 2024, more than the next 10 countries combined. Much of this money flows to private defence contractors like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Boeing — the backbone of the military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower famously warned about in logic of these forever wars is circular: instability demands presence; presence breeds backlash; backlash justifies further presence. The treadmill keeps turning — and stepping off seems politically the ThreatSince the early 2000s, the targets have changed — from al-Qaeda to ISIS, from terrorists to great power rivals. Today, U.S. troops conduct drone operations and low-intensity combat missions in Africa, while shifting strategic focus toward Russia and China. The War on Terror may be fading, but the Forever War architecture remains firmly more alarming, the tools of war have seeped into American civil life. To combat terrorism, Washington expanded surveillance, militarised policing, justified torture, and operated secret prisons. Civil liberties eroded, often with bipartisan support — and the public barely Question No One Wants to AnswerThe media moves on. Congress rarely intervenes. And presidents, regardless of party, continue the mission. War is rebranded, relocated, resold — but not 2021, President Biden withdrew U.S. forces from Afghanistan. The chaotic exit dominated headlines. But even as troops left Kabul, they redeployed elsewhere. The war machine, critics argue, never stopped — it merely how do these wars end?Veterans, whistleblowers, and peace activists argue that endless war erodes democracy and weakens global stability. They point to the psychological toll on soldiers, the rise of authoritarian policies, and the blowback that breeds new enemies faster than old ones are warning is clear: if war becomes the default state, democracy becomes an illusion. If conflict becomes identity, then peace becomes the end, America's forever wars pose a fundamental question: What does the United States gain by fighting endlessly? And what does the world lose when it cannot stop?Until those questions are seriously addressed — not just by policymakers but by citizens — the cycle will continue. The headlines may fade. But the bombs will fall. The costs will mount. And the war will go on.- Ends
News18
2 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Rs 5,600 Fine For Googling These 2 Words!
1/5 Nearly everyone who uses the internet is familiar with Google Search. Whether we're looking up health information or finding an address, Google is often our first port of call. However, there are certain things one should avoid searching online, as doing so may now carry legal consequences, particularly in Russia. According to The Washington Post, Russian lawmakers have introduced new legislation that imposes fines of up to $65 (USD) for searching so-called 'extremist' content online. In Russia, this term is applied broadly. For example, the LGBT movement has been officially labelled as a 'terrorist' organisation, alongside any material linked to al-Qaeda or Nazi ideology. The government currently maintains a list of over 5,500 prohibited topics and organisations, and this list is expanding rapidly. Previously, individuals in Russia could be penalised for sharing or distributing such content. Under the new law, however, even conducting private online searches, such as through a VPN, can result in fines. Additionally, those who promote or advertise VPNs may face penalties of up to $2,500 for individuals and $13,000 for companies. Russian authorities claim these restrictions are necessary during times of conflict, but critics argue the move represents a serious erosion of freedom of expression. It is widely viewed as yet another attempt by the Russian government to tighten its grip on internet access and online behaviour.
New York Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
WH bigs fume over trigger-happy ‘madman' Netanyahu, ‘who just won't behave': report
Trump administration officials are fuming over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 'madman'' trigger-happy behavior even as the president plays nice with him, a new report says. Recent aggressive actions by Netanyahu — including the bombing of Syria last week and the shelling of a church in Gaza despite President Trump's warm embrace and chumminess with Bibi — have more than unnerved top US officials behind the scenes, Axios said. 'Bibi acted like a madman. He bombs everything all the time,' a White House official vented to the outlet. 'This could undermine what Trump is trying to do.' Advertisement Trump has made ending foreign wars one of his top priorities during his second term. As part of that effort, he has sought to thaw out long-strained US relations with Syria and give its new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, a chance despite his past ties to al-Qaeda and Islamic extremism. 4 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump have maintained a friendly rapport in public. Getty Images Advertisement 4 Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in Israel's history. REUTERS Trump met with al-Sharaa in May and has since moved to scrap sanctions on Syria — but the situation is widely seen as very delicate. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that the war-torn country is weeks away from 'potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions.' Netanyahu on Tuesday then authorized the bombing of a Syrian envoy, which was headed toward Suwayda to address the bloodshed between armed Bedouin tribesmen and the Druze militia, part of a minority group that Israel has vowed to protect. Syria's government claimed it was trying to stop the violence and restore order, but Israel accused it of helping in the attacks against the Druze. Additionally, Israel faulted the Syrian government for crossing a zone inside southern Syria that it has demanded remain demilitarized. Advertisement US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack urged the Israelis to stand down from the attack, and they agreed to do so, Axios reported. But then, after a brief break, they continued bombing Syria, including near the presidential palace. Al-Sharaa declined to retaliate against Israel and agreed to pull troops back from Syria's south. 'The bombing in Syria caught the president and the White House by surprise. The president doesn't like turning on the television and seeing bombs dropped in a country he is seeking peace in and made a monumental announcement to help rebuild,' an official told the outlet. Rubio reportedly demanded that Israel to stop the attacks on Syria on Wednesday which led to the ceasefire that's still in effect. Top US allies in the region, such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia, complained to the Trump administration about Israel's actions. Advertisement 4 Trump met with Syria's leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in May. Saudi Royal Palace/AFP via Getty Images Israel's bombing in Syria came just days after Netanyahu's visit to the US, where he was given a warm reception at the White House and announced plans to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. Top Trump administration officials, including Barrack and special envoy Steve Witkoff, complained to Trump about Israel's bellicose actions and posited that the bombing campaign was motivated by Netanyahu's domestic politics, according to Axios. 'The Israelis need to get their head out of their asses,' an official griped. The bombing of Syria is far from the only issue with Israel. Another flashpoint was a recent deadly attack on the sole Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, in which three people were killed and 10 injured. Trump called Netanyahu directly after that strike and pressed him for an explanation. Israel has since put out a statement expressing remorse for the attack. 'The feeling is that every day there is something new. What the f–k?' another top US official groused to Axios. A fellow US official said, 'Netanyahu is sometimes like a child who just won't behave.' Advertisement 4 The president has largely refrained from criticizing Netanyahu in his second term. WILL OLIVER/EPA/Shutterstock Another point of friction between the Trump administration and Israel has been the killing of Palestinian American Saif Mussallet by Israeli settlers, something that US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee denounced as 'terrorism.' Huckabee has long been staunchly pro-Israel and even attended Netanyahu's trial to back the prime minister amid internal corruption claims. Last month, after Israel launched preemptive strikes against Iran in the middle of Trump's negotiations with the theocratic regime, there had been speculation that the White House was uneasy with the attacks. Advertisement Rubio initially put out a bland statement acknowledging the strikes but refraining from endorsing them. Trump later dropped heavy-duty bunker buster bombs on key Iranian nuclear facilities. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden have all had various issues and conflicts with Netanyahu, grumbling that he is too hawkish and not always trustworthy. During the 2024 campaign cycle, Trump occasionally hinted at his own beefs with Netanyahu, at one point faulting him for the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack happening under his watch. Advertisement Trump also grumbled that Netanyahu agreed to help with the January 2020 US attack that took out Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani before backing out, as well as the fact that the Israeli prime minister acknowledged Biden's electoral victory. Since then, the two leaders have appeared to bury the hatchet. Despite the reported issues with Netanyahu behind the scenes, the Trump administration has refrained from knocking him publicly. The White House did not comment on a Post request for comment.
