“A breath of fresh air… relentless and unapologetic.” —The New York Post
Acclaimed Middle East expert Barry Rubin investigates Syria: its support of the Iraq insurgency, ferocious political repression and mix of competing religious and ethnic groups. American policymakers have been wrestling with the Syria question for years, but it has gained particular urgency in light [...]

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But some observers see other motives in pulling back Syria’s nuclear curtain. Andrew Semmel, the former top State Department official for nonproliferation, tells Voice of America the release may have been aimed at “putting a positive spin” on intelligence that was bound to leak. Dar Al-Hayat columnist Elias Harfoush sees the disclosure as an attempt [...]

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By George Friedman
The Middle East, already monstrously complex, grew more complex last week. First, there were strong indications that both Israel and Syria were prepared to engage in discussions on peace. That alone is startling enough. But with the indicators arising in the same week that the United States decided to reveal that the purpose [...]

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Syria will not sever ties with Iran and Hezbollah even as part of a possible peace agreement with Israel, a senior Syrian analyst who is handling the government’s contacts as it relates to the peace process said on Tuesday.
“It would be naive to think Syria will neglect or abandon its strategic alliances that do not [...]

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NHK reported on the 28th that 10 North Korean engineers who took part in the construction of the Syria nuclear facility died in the Israeli bombing of the facility in September, 2007.
NHK quoted a South Korean intelligence agent as confirming that “most of the 10 casualties were agents of the 99th Department under the Ministry [...]

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Three years after Syria ended its near 30-year military presence in Lebanon, Damascus stands accused of still pulling strings there and leaving its tiny neighbour paralysed by political deadlock.
On April 26, 2005, Syria withdrew the last of its officials who had reigned as the true powerbrokers in Beirut, as the final 14,000 troops of a [...]

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US and Israel intelligence experts upgrade the chances of president Bashar Assad retaliating for the Israeli attack, which irreparably damaged the secret nuclear North Korea built for him in eastern Syria - now that the episode is out in the open. DEBKAfile quotes those experts as recalling Saddam Hussein’s burning ambition to hit Israel’s nuclear [...]

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It has been known for years, ever since Israel captured the Golan in the Six Day War, that negotiations with Syria would hinge on the picturesque highland. But the Golan now is home to moshavim, kibbutzim, wineries and more than 20,000 Israeli citizens. It is also deemed to be of considerable strategic importance, and its [...]

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More videos on the topic here.

US says North Korea gave Syria nuclear assistance
International Herald Tribune, France - 1 hour ago
“We are convinced, based on a variety of information, that North Korea assisted Syria’s covert nuclear activities both before and after the reactor was …
Syria mocks ‘nuclear reactor’ images Melbourne Herald Sun
US alleges DPRK-Syria nuclear [...]

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In a move that could upset Washington’s policy towards North Korea, US intelligence officials are set to tell lawmakers this week that Pyongyang shared nuclear know-how with Syria, one official said Wednesday.
The United States has concluded that the Stalinist regime’s help came both before and after a Syrian nuclear reactor being built in secret with [...]

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(Video) Qatari newspaper al-Watan reports of Syrian preparations against Israeli strike during coming summer; says Israel looking to May, June as possible window for attack
According to the report, the nationwide emergency drill held by Damascus in response to a similar drill held by Israel last week, is one of the preemptive steps taken by Syria, [...]

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DEBKAfile’s military sources report that Damascus has deployed the 10th armed corps at the Massaneh crossing of Mount Hermon. It links up with the northwestern positions the 14th division took up last month on the Syrian-Israeli border which cuts through the Hermon range.
Syrian troops are now strung along a continuous crescent-shaped line from the [...]

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Israel’s intelligence community has concluded that the next war would involve missiles and Hizbullah, last at least a month and include Syria.
The intelligence community has drafted a series of scenarios for Israel’s emergency services to prepare for future war. The scenarios envisioned the next war as including massive missile and rocket salvos, some of them [...]

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Israel and the United States are coordinating the release of details on the air force strike in Syria last September, which foreign reports claim targeted a nuclear installation Syria was constructing with North Korean assistance. American officials may reveal details of the strike later this month during congressional hearings.
Even though the defense establishment in Israel [...]

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According to British media, the US is set to attack Iranian military facilities. DEBKAfile’s military sources add that the USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Force is heading for the Persian Gulf.
War tensions in the Middle East have shot up - not only over the signals flashing between Syria, Lebanon, and Israel, but also on the US-Iranian [...]

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Recent events serve as a reminder of how menacing behavior from Iran and Syria keeps the Middle East on a hair trigger. On Tuesday, Israel learned that Hezbollah was rapidly rebuilding its military capabilities and preparing for renewed conflict with Israel. The next morning, a London-based Arab newspaper reported that Syria was concentrating troops and [...]

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Agreement to establish petroleum refinery part of plans to bolster cooperation between countries in oil and gas industry
Syria and China Wednesday signed an agreement to establish a petroleum refinery as part of plans to bolster cooperation in the oil and gas industry, the official SANA news agency reported Thursday.
According to the report, the [...]

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Israel’s security cabinet convened Wednesday, April 2, to examine the homeland’s preparedness for war. It decided to redistribute the bio/chemical warfare masks a few months after they were called in. DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose intelligence data indicating the possibility that Syria may transfer to Hizballah chemical or biological warheads known to have been developed for [...]

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Syria has been calling up reservist soldiers in recent days in anticipation of an Israeli strike against Hizbullah. Damascus believes such an operation may include hits against Syria.
Specifically, Syrian sources who declined to give their names say Damascus believes Israel will strike Hizbullah, and then enter Syrian territory from Lebanon. The Beirut-Damascus Road [...]

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Israel’s security cabinet convened Wednesday, April 2, to examine the homeland’s preparedness for war. It decided to redistribute the bio/chemical warfare masks a few months after they were called in. DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose intelligence data indicating the possibility that Syria may transfer to Hizballah chemical or biological warheads known to have been developed for [...]

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Israel plans to conduct its largest exercise ever to set contingencies for massive missile attacks by Iran and Syria.
The government has been preparing for a five-day exercise in April that would simulate conventional and nonconventional missile strikes from Iran, Lebanon and Syria. Officials said the exercise would test emergency response as well as evacuation of [...]

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