2 March 2016
"Syria Ceasefire" by Hassan Bleibel
Featured
By Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. via Politico
They don’t hate ‘our freedoms.’ They hate that we’ve betrayed our ideals in their own countries — for oil.
Inside Syria
By Reuters via The Daily Star Lebanon
ISIS fighters were reported to have tightened their grip on a Syrian government supply route to Aleppo Tuesday as the army battled to retake the road, which is important to its campaign to retake the city.
By Fabrice Balanche via The Washington Institute
Both Idlib province and eastern Aleppo province have been relatively spared from the fighting, and their rural communities remain strong.
Refugees in the West
"Daily Quota Europe Refugees" by Petar Pismestrovic
By Helena Smith via Reuters
Operation follows Macedonia’s decision to close frontier, leaving thousands of migrants and refugees stranded in Greece
By Katie Notopoulos via Buzzfeed News
U.S. laws cause frustration for people trying to use payment apps to fundraise for humanitarian aid.
By Anthony Faiola via The Washington Post
Nations along Europe’s refugee route are taking the boldest steps yet to clamp down on migrant flows, trapping thousands of asylum seekers and potentially blocking countless war-weary families from finding sanctuary in the West.
Proxy Politics
By Kristina Wong via The Hill
The Obama administration is allowing moderate Syrian rebels, which the U.S. spent hundreds of millions training and equipping, to be slowly destroyed, experts warn.
By Daniel Byman via Vox
Here, then, are five options for how the US could address the Syrian conflict. None of them are good options, but we still have to pick one, so we should try to pick the least bad one.
By Mike Giglio via Buzzfeed News
Confusion in the Obama administration’s Syria policy is playing out on the ground as U.S.-backed groups begin battling each other.
By Richard Lardner of Associated Press via Yahoo News
"Kerry Plans for Failure" by Drybones
Secretary of State John Kerry told lawmakers he won't vouch for the success of the newly struck cease-fire agreement in Syria but said the truce negotiated with Russia is the best pathway for ending five years of violence that has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced another 11 million from their homes.
By Erin Banco via International Business Times
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that a political transition in Syria could take place within the next few months if the proposed ceasefire holds and all parties agree to come to the negotiating table. The statement in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing was the first from the secretary that indicated a set timeline for a ceasefire and the potential ousting of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
