Syria

On Austin Tice, And the Tug of War

About a month ago, a friend posted an article — a Facebook post, rather — that Austin Tice wrote before he went missing. Austin is a freelance journalist, fellow Marine, and fellow Georgetown student apparently captured by …

Wars? What Wars?

Wednesday night was supposed to be “foreign policy night” at the Republican convention in Tampa, and it was: the speeches were conventional.

Neither GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney nor his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan …

Is Syria’s Civil War Leaching Into Iraq?

Vivienne Walt reports:

For months, Syrian opposition groups have smuggled weapons and fighters into the country across the borders of Turkey and Lebanon. Now another of Syria’s influential neighbors—Iraq—says its territory is being used as a base for al-Qaeda attacks against the regime of President Bashar Assad. Speaking to a

War’s Strange Bedfellows

The Pentagon is buying helicopters for its Afghan allies from the same Russian-based company that’s also selling weapons to Syria that Damascus is using against its own people.

Rosoboronexport, Moscow’s official arms …

NoKo & Syria: Family Businesses

Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s new leader, sent greetings Thursday to strongman Bashar al-Assad on the 49th anniversary of his family’s dictatorial rule of Syria:

Please accept my warm congratulations to you, the Baath Arab Socialist Party and the friendly government and people of Syria on the occasion of the 49th anniversary of

Fighting Words, Then and Now

There has been a flurry of red flags and cautions from senior Pentagon officials against the U.S. launching any military action against Syria. Given that we spear-headed a similar effort against Libya a year ago this month, …

“Ally, May I?”

Nothing raises lawmakers’ hackles like Pentagon officials saying they need international support before going to war, as Chris Lawrence explains over at CNN’s Security Clearance blog.

Their gripes would have more grip if they stepped up to the plate and declared war when the nation sends its troops into harm’s way, instead of …

Getting Serious About Syria

If the U.S. has no appetite for military action against Iran, it has even less desire to engage kinetically with Syria. White House spokesman – and Battleland’s former boss – Jay Carney made that clear Tuesday. “We still …