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Facebook Fatwa: Saudi Clerics, Wahhabi Islam and Social Media
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies has released the first-ever study of what radical Saudi Wahhabists are preaching to their followers about the United States and non-Muslims on social media sites.
Learn MoreAnalysis & Commentary - Tony Badran
A Nifty Conceit: the EU, Hezbollah, and Lebanon
The Hezbollah bus bombing in Bulgaria as well as their foiled operation in Cyprus have put Europe in an uncomfortable position, as pressure increases on the EU to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. more...
News Update
The announcement that UK governmentt will be providing armored vehicles and body armor for rebel forces in Syria. more...
Iran’s Lebanon Arm
The recent death of Revolutionary Guards Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) senior officer Hassan Shateri, alias Hessam Khoshnevis, has cast the spotlight on the direct role the IRGC... more...
News Update
FDD's Tony Badran discusses if there's anything the world community can do and whether there's a stalemate in Syria. more...
The Takeaway
Bombs rock the Syria capital of Damascus. more...
Analysis: Hezbollah is Acting Just As It Always Has
Hezbollah and Iran are coordinating closely to keep Syrian President Bashar Assad in power. Hezbollah fighters continue to die in the Syrian civil war as the Syrian opposition claimed on Monday that 43 were killed... more...
Iran and Israel Fight, Lebanon Loses
It’s been more than two weeks since the Israeli airstrike in Syria against the arms convoy headed for Hezbollah in Lebanon. Bits of information, coupled with ominous warnings, are coming out from Jerusalem... more...
Assessing Israel’s Strike on Syria
Last week saw what might have been the first incursion by Israeli warplanes into Syria airspace in six years. The strike took place on Wednesday (January 30th), and by week’s end, unnamed US and Israeli... more...
Hollow Praise for the LAF
On Monday, the US ambassador to Lebanon, Maura Connelly, called the Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and expressed condolences for the officers killed or injured in last week’s raid... more...
News Update
The Israeli strike in Syria and its implications. more...
Israel’s Free Hand
Yesterday, reports emerged of an Israeli airstrike against a truck convoy suspected of carrying “game changing” weapons systems from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon. While previous reports had mainly... more...
Analysis: Al-Qaida’s Increasing Presence in Lebanon
Al-Qaida’s presence in Lebanon is growing, partly because of the spillover from the civil war next door in Syria. There are reports that Jabhat al-Nusra, a.k.a. the al-Nusra Front, which the US last month... more...
Whose Side is America On?
In President Barack Obama’s inaugural address marking the start of his second term in office, he dedicated little space to foreign policy. While the president made no specific mention of Iran, he did... more...
The Kurds’ Sensitive Juncture
Last week’s killing in Paris of three female Kurdish activists with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has spurred much speculation about the party responsible for the assassinations and the purpose... more...
The John Batchelor Show
The Obama administration's strategy in Syria. more...
Obama’s Flexible Red Lines
In response to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s latest address, US officials and spokespersons have dismissively described the embattled dictator as someone “detached from reality” and “delusional,”... more...
Obama Administration’s ‘Failings’ on Syria
It is hard to dispute claims that Syria will be seen as one of the biggest foreign policy failures of the Obama administration, according to analyst Tony Badran. Speaking to the Guardian, Badran... more...
Diplomatic Theater
If you’ve been following Syria news over the past week, you’d be forgiven for thinking that feverish, Moscow-centered diplomatic activity was on the cusp of producing an agreement for a political... more...
A Historic Settlement?
On Monday, the Hezbollah-aligned al-Akhbar published an interview with Syria’s Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa entitled “Decisive military victory is an illusion. The solution is a historic settlement.” more...
Syrian VP’s Remarks Suggest Regime in Dire Straits
Syria's Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa is drawing attention for becoming the first senior Syrian official to publicly acknowledge that his government cannot win its battle against a 21-month rebellion. more...