Tag Archives: bashar al-assad

Jonathan Brown

Assad, Appeasement, Aleppo and the Collapse of International Law

By Jonathan Brown | Fri 30th September 2016 - 9:34 am

The latest ceasefire in Syria failed – and was always going to fail – due to a complete lack of will to enforce its provisions. This failure of the international community to respond to the worst humanitarian crisis of a generation is eroding the system of international laws and norms that underpin democratic societies.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 69 Comments
Nick T

The case for Syrian air-strikes: not overwhelming, but strong enough

By Nick T | Sun 29th November 2015 - 2:34 pm

In the early hours of 21 August 2013, rockets began to land in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta. The civilian population of Syria had now become used to this, since Bashar al-Assad had decided over 2 years earlier that in response to a peaceful uprising against his totalitarian rule he would prosecute the most brutal military campaign by a ruler against his people that this century has seen. But this attack was different: the rockets were filled with sarin, a highly toxic nerve agent.

When the images of the hundreds of people killed and thousands injured began to circulate, there was international outrage of a level not so far seen in the Syrian Civil War. Momentum gathered for a military response. Obama’s red line had been crossed. Enough was enough.

Only it wasn’t. Obama dithered. Miliband played politics. Assad survived to kill another day.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 69 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Mohammed Amin
    Many congratulations....
  • Simon R
    I'm not sure I like the idea of being 'populists' - with all the connotations of simplistic solutions that don't actually work. So I'd prefer to think of the d...
  • Mike Peters
    Congratulations! Well deserved....
  • Simon R
    @Bigtalltim: Net migration has added around 4 million to the UK population in the last 10 years alone. Every one of those people needs somewhere to live. It is...
  • David Raw
    @ Steve Trevethan, you ask : "Has our Royal Family benefited for the considered welcoming of immigrants ?" To be perfectly honest, Steve, as a radical Libera...