For today, links to nine reports: from Reuters, Middle East Eye, the Associated Press, National Public Radio, and Common Dreams; to commentary from Common Dreams; to commentary from Jonathan-Cook.net via Consortium News, and, also via CN, to a three-way conversation on WBAI; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entry for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM
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Israel plans to double population on occupied Golan, cites threats from Syria, by Howard Goller | Reuters JERUSALEM — Israel today said it would double its population on the occupied Golan Heights while saying threats from Syria remained despite the moderate tone of rebel leaders who ousted President Bashar al-Assad a week ago. READ MORE . . .
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FROM DEC. 14 Syrian commander on Israeli frontline says invasion will go no further, by Daniel Hilton and Omar al-Aswad | Middle East Eye DAMASCUS — Qatana, a town in the countryside 25km from Syria’s capital, today finds itself just 8km from invading Israeli troops. “We refuse to let anyone enter Syria,” says Abdallah Sheikh, the rebel commander now overseeing the town. READ MOVE . . .
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One week into a new Syria, rebels aim for normalcy and Syrians vow not to be silent again, by Sarah el Deeb | AP DAMASCUS — Rebels, suddenly in charge, have met a population bursting with emotions: excitement at new freedoms; grief over years of repression; and hopes, expectations and worries about the future. Some were overwhelmed to the point of tears. The transition . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for reports from Reuters and NPR.
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Rebels took over Damascus quickly, but the uprising has been decades in the making. Ayesha Rascoe of NPR talks with Mazen Gharibah of the London School of Economics about internal opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which started long before his ouster this month. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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FROM DEC. 14 One week into post-Assad rule in Syria — a view from Damascus. Reported by Scott Detrow and Leila Fadel | NPR Detrow in the United States and Fadel in Syria talk about what it’s like in the latter country this weekend. Click HERE to listen and read.
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FROM DEC. 14 Assad’s fall came too late for one NPR reporter’s father. Reported by Diaa Hadid | NPR Assad’s fall came too late for the father of NPR’s Diaa Hadid, who was briefly detained by Syrian forces during their occupation of northern Lebanon. Click HERE to listen and read.
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FROM DEC. 9 U.S. bombs over 75 targets in Syria after Assad falls, by Brett Wilkins | Common Dreams U.S. military forces launched dozens of airstrikes on more than 75 Islamic State targets in Syria on Dec. 8 after the fall of longtime Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and amid ongoing Israeli and Turkish attacks . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM DEC. 12 How the U.S. and Israel destroyed Syria and called it peace, by Jeffrey D. Sachs | Common Dreams Syria’s fall came swiftly because of more than a decade of crushing economic sanctions, the burdens of war, the U.S. seizure of Syria’s oil, Russia’s priorities regarding the conflict in Ukraine, and most immediately . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM DEC. 12 The day the media decided militant jihadism is OK, by Jonathan-Cook | Jonathan-Cook.net / Consortium News Here is a very strange thing. For years, Western media outlets and politicians have been recklessly indifferent to the fact that Hamas is not a jihadist movement, like . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM DEC. 14 Listen: The two puppets. Joe Lauria of Consortium NWes and former CIA analyst Larry Johnson join Randy Credico’s “Live on the Fly” over-the-air radio program on WBAI in New York to discuss events in Syria and Ukraine, and the roles of the U.S., Israel and Turkey. How controllable is Abu Mohammad Jolani? Click HERE for audio.