Syria & Middle East News Catch-all | Lebanon Finally Elects a PM

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I fervently hope that Syria can have a genuine rebirth as a fledgling democracy and desperately fear a Khmer Rouge/Taliban outcome.
 

U.S. to Ease Aid Restrictions for Syria in Limited Show of Support for New Government​

The move reflects Washington’s wariness about U.S.-designated terror organization that leads the country​



“… The limited step approved by the administration over the weekend authorizes the Treasury Department to issue waivers to aid groups and companies providing essential services, such as water, electricity and other humanitarian supplies, officials said.

Available initially for six months, the waiver would free aid suppliers from having to seek case-by-case authorization but it comes with conditions to ensure Syria doesn’t misuse the supplies, the officials said.

The U.S. has already dropped a $10 million bounty on Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, the Islamist leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, the Sunni Islamist group that began as an offshoot of al Qaeda and led the assault that toppled the Assad regime.

The U.S. is withholding a decision on lifting crippling sanctions imposed during Syria’s brutal 13-year civil war, seeking assurances Damascus won’t renege on promises to protect the rights of women and the country’s many religious and ethnic minorities. …”
 

Iran Pulls Most Forces From Syria, in Blow to Tehran’s Regional Ambitions​

Thousands of Iranian military personnel and militia allies fled after Assad’s fall, leaving behind weapons and equipment​



"Iranian forces have largely withdrawn from Syria following the Assad regime’s December collapse, according to U.S., European and Arab officials, in a significant blow to Tehran’s strategy for projecting power in the Middle East.

The Iranian withdrawal marks the demise of a yearslong effort in which Tehran used Syria as a hub in its broader regional strategy of partnering with regimes and allied militias to spread influence and wage proxy war against the U.S. and Israel. Iranian-backed armed groups in Syria have launched attacks on U.S. forces and aided in attacks on Israel. Members of Iran’s elite Quds Force have now fled to Iran and the militia groups have disbanded, a senior U.S. official said.

The Islamic Republic spent billions of dollars and sent thousands of military personnel and allied fighters to Syria after the Arab Spring uprising in 2011, to prop up the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Syria was Iran’s main state ally in the Middle East and a critical land bridge to Hezbollah—the most powerful militia in Tehran’s self-labeled “axis of resistance” alliance. ..."
 
Operation Many Ways remains stunning. The released videos are amazing as are the technicals on the facility. Can't wait to read more about the infil.
 
nycfan said:
I fervently hope that Syria can have a genuine rebirth as a fledgling democracy and desperately fear a Khmer Rouge/Taliban outcome.
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Throughout history -- and I think is true even within subsets of history -- the latter outcomes vastly outnumber the former in situations like these. I don't know if Khmer Rouge is a possibility here (KR was so out of control and wildly lunatic that I'm not sure we will ever see something quite like it again, although the fucking idiot monarchs in Turkmenistan at least ape their style), but a peaceful democracy is a long shot.

Another possible outcome, and maybe the most likely "good" one, would be dissolution of Syria into at least two states, each of which might choose to join another country in the area.
 


“Lebanon’s parliament has elected the US-backed army chief to be the country’s next president, ending a years-long political stalemate and presidential vacuum.

Army chief Joseph Aoun was voted president after two rounds of voting. This came after a robust efforts by Saudi Arabia and the United States to rally support for Aoun, who is close to Washington and Riyadh.

Lebanon has been without a president since the end of the tenure of former President Michel Aoun – who is not related to Joseph Aoun – in October 2022. The former president was backed by Iran-supported Hezbollah. Negotiations over his successor were unsuccessful, reinvigorating tensions between the country’s pro-Western and pro-Iranian camps.

Prior to Thursday’s parliamentary sessions, there were 12 failed attempts to elect a president over the last two years.

A US-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended a war between Hezbollah and Israel last November appears to have also expedited the long-awaited presidential election. Hezbollah was dealt heavy blows by Israel’s assault, which was shortly followed by the downfall of Iran-backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who had opened his territory to the passage of Hezbollah’s weapons from Iran via neighboring Iraq. …”
 
nycfan said:


“Lebanon’s parliament has elected the US-backed army chief to be the country’s next president, ending a years-long political stalemate and presidential vacuum.

Army chief Joseph Aoun was voted president after two rounds of voting. This came after a robust efforts by Saudi Arabia and the United States to rally support for Aoun, who is close to Washington and Riyadh.

Lebanon has been without a president since the end of the tenure of former President Michel Aoun – who is not related to Joseph Aoun – in October 2022. The former president was backed by Iran-supported Hezbollah. Negotiations over his successor were unsuccessful, reinvigorating tensions between the country’s pro-Western and pro-Iranian camps.

Prior to Thursday’s parliamentary sessions, there were 12 failed attempts to elect a president over the last two years.

A US-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended a war between Hezbollah and Israel last November appears to have also expedited the long-awaited presidential election. Hezbollah was dealt heavy blows by Israel’s assault, which was shortly followed by the downfall of Iran-backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who had opened his territory to the passage of Hezbollah’s weapons from Iran via neighboring Iraq. …”
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I'm just a toy, just a funny boy
That makes you laugh when you're blue
I'll be wonderful, do just what I'm told
I'll do anything for you
I'm your puppet, I'm your puppet
 
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