In the early hours of Friday morning, a drone airstrike was launched at a convoy carrying the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds force and the Iranian Major General, General Qasem Soleimani. The assassination […]
No Peace in Sight: America, Syria, Turkey and the Kurds
The US has withdrawn from the conflict in Syria, as promised by President Trump in 2016. However, the consequences of this decision are just beginning to shine through. What is left for the region after […]
You’ve Not Got a Friend in Me: Trump’s Kurdish Betrayal
If you are of the persuasion that we in the West have no business gallivanting around the Middle East on oil-obsessed colonialist escapades, and have incidentally been living under a rock for the past two […]
The Gryphon asks: Are the airstrikes in Syria the right decision?
YES: In defence of airstrikes for human rights This weekend’s bombing of Syria undertaken in response to chemical weapons attacks in Douma has been met with raucous condemnation, as many fear that the targeted air […]
Trumped Up
Whisper it quietly, but Donald Trump may have taken the first step towards fulfilling his responsibilities as leader of the free world in the dangerous times we live in. If you need this confirmed, simply […]
Rogue One and the crisis in the Middle East: an analysis
The new addition to the Star Wars world, Rogue One, has painted a much darker picture than its predecessors. In doing so it has also accentuated possible existing themes related to conflict in the Middle […]
‘Human Rights, Human Wrongs’ at the Hyde Park Picturehouse
Saturday afternoon saw The Hyde Park Picture House host the first of a series of monthly events held by the Leeds branch of Amnesty International. Primarily pitched as a film event, ‘Human Rights, Human Wrongs’ […]
Casting a blind eye over Aleppo
What is Aleppo?”, was the question the Libertarian nominee for president of the US, Gary Johnson, responded with when he was asked what he would do about the carpet bombed Syrian city if elected president […]
The West’s failure in Syria
The Syrian Civil War is currently approaching its sixth year. Estimates of its casualty toll range between 200,00-400,000. What was once one of the Middle East’s most heavily entrenched autocracies has effectively imploded, an international […]
Syria in 2016
What will 2016 bring for the Syrian Civil War? Although it impossible to predict the conflict’s outcome, it has stretched on long enough for a general trajectory to be anticipated, and sadly this year is […]