Syria and the two headed monster

Silvia Veroli | October 11, 2013

Below is an English translation made by Silvia Veroli herself. The Italian original can be found here.

“In Syria we are now faced with a two-headed monster: the Assad regime and Al-Qaeda. Contrary to what many believe, the two more often cooperate than fight. Moderates are their common enemy. In order to understand this point, go to Google Earth, look up Raqqa City and zero in on it. You will find a big structure at the outskirt of the city, this is the governor’s palace, but it has been occupied by Al-Qaeda for months now, and this is common knowledge, but Assad’s air force has so far targeted hospitals, schools, and civilian neighborhood and never once did it target the palace. If AQ is Assad’s enemy why not target its positions? They are pretty known. But Assad needs AQ to fight moderate rebels and score points with the international community”. Continue reading “Syria and the two headed monster” →

The struggle for Syria’s soul

The struggle for Syria’s soul.

In her first article for NOW, my daughter Oula travels down memory lane to discuss the competition between Islamists and Baathists for control over Syria’s children’s minds and souls using the country’s educational system, a competition which, she argues convincingly, paved the way for the current showdown on the ground. Our struggle for liberty is “herculean,” indeed.

SPIEGEL Interview with Syrian President Bashar Assad

SPIEGEL Interview with Syrian President Bashar Assad – SPIEGEL ONLINE.

Today he is interrogated by a journalist, tomorrow, it will be the turn of a prosecutor. But, for now, you gotta admit, he looks more presidential than Obama, which doesn’t say much really. My cat looks more presidential than Obama at this stage, why can’t a rat?

فيسبوك: 9 تشرين الأول، 2013

فيسبوك: 9 تشرين الأول، 2013

* تنجم عبثية الحياة أساساً عن عدم قدرتنا على تمثّل المبادئ التي ندّعي الإيمان بها عندما تتعارض مع مصالحنا ورغباتنا، وهي لذلك تمثّل القدر الذي نصنعه لأنفسنا جرّاء فشلنا المستمر في تنمية إحساس حقيقي بوحدتنا وبكوننا روح وجسد واحد في مواجهة الكون، بمجهوله ومعلومه. ويبدو واضحاً أنّا لا زلنا لا نحسن بعد كيفية التعامل مع الخوف والمجهول بشكل ينمّي فينا جميعاً الرغبة في البناء والحياة، ومازلنا نرتكس لذلك إلى غريزة البقاء التي تقف في وجههما عاجزة إلا عن العنف. هذا، فيما يبدو، سرّ إحساسنا المستمرّ بالقهر ومصدر نزيفنا الروحي الذي لا يكاد يتوقّف. Continue reading “فيسبوك: 9 تشرين الأول، 2013” →