Syria This Week – New Minister of Defense; French Strike; Sharaa Meets Christian Leaders – The Syrian Observer

Syria’s transitional authorities announced on Tuesday the appointment of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) military commander, Marhaf Abu Qasra, as the new defense minister, two days after naming former members of opposition factions to key positions. Among those appointed to the armed forces were foreign fighters, including Uyghurs, Jordanians, and Turks, according to Reuters. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and experts identified some of these appointees as “foreign jihadists.”

Trump officials texted attack plans to a group chat in a secure app that included a journalist

Top national security officials for President Donald Trump, including his defense secretary, texted plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, the magazine reported in a story posted online Monday. The National Security Council said the text chain “appears to be authentic.”

Syria’s War Began 14 Years Ago. Explore FRONTLINE’s Reporting on Its Origins and Consequences

In the 14 years since the war in Syria broke out, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions have been displaced from their homes or have lost their livelihoods. What began as a popular uprising in March 2011 was met by a swift and brutal crackdown by then-President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. It then morphed into a protracted armed conflict that drew in other countries and led to the emergence of extremist organizations like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Fighting in the Belgorod borderland, the Ukrainian Armed Forces retreated from Sudzha, the Long Neptune flew to the oil refinery in Tuapse. What happened on the front this week

In today’s summary:
Ukrainian troops attempted to break through to the Belgorod region on a small section of the border in the Krasnoyarsk region
Ukrainian Armed Forces units retreated from the regional center of Sudzha – the former Kursk bridgehead was reduced to approximately 100 sq. km
Near Pokrovsk, Ukrainian troops have already recaptured five settlements during “stabilization” measures
The Russian Armed Forces have launched an offensive in the Zaporizhzhya direction west of Orekhovo – so far the actions are tactical in nature
Russian military created another local bridgehead on the right bank of the Oskol River north of Kupyansk
The first combat use of the Ukrainian long-range missile “Long Neptune” took place – probably at the oil refinery in Tuapse
In the structure of losses of equipment of the Russian Armed Forces, the share of various unarmored vehicles has grown to 85%
The Insider has released an article reviewing American military aid to Ukraine and its importance for the continuation of the war

Cherbourg Nuclear Umbrella: How Europe Can Secure Its Own Nuclear Deterrent Without US Involvement

The United States is going to abolish the post of NATO commander in Europe. Experts interpret this decision as Washington’s first step toward leaving the alliance. Potentially, this leaves European NATO countries defenseless against a nuclear threat from Russia. Europe has several ways to ensure its own nuclear security: expanding France’s deterrence system to the entire continent, jointly using nuclear weapons, or developing its own nuclear weapons. However, there are no quick fixes in this area that could immediately compensate for the loss of American involvement. Each of the possible options leads to its own set of technical, political, and military problems, says Fabian Hoffmann, a researcher in defense policy at the University of Oslo in Norway.

Ending the New Wars of Attrition: Opportunities for Collective Regional Security in the Middle East

The Middle East’s only viable path toward stability and security lies in fostering dialogue, coordinated initiatives, and joint diplomacy among its influential states.

The 2023–2025 war in Gaza and Lebanon has not only shattered any remaining hopes for regional peace but also exposed the impotence of the international community, the United Nations (UN), and the great powers to decisively intervene and halt the devastation. The conventional narratives of entrenched conflict, stolen aspirations, and elusive stability have been revisited countless times, yet the Middle East remains ensnared in chaos.

Ćacilend and the attempts to create incidents in Belgrade

The oceanic demonstration on Saturday, March 15 in Belgrade was repeatedly obstructed, with buses and trains cancelled and groups of fake students “wanting to return to class” supported by veterans of the infamous Red Berets

The days preceding the large protest in Belgrade were marked by a considerable increase in tension in the city. President Vučić himself had announced mass arrests as he expected the opposition to organise incidents during the protests.

War, Power, and Hegemony: The U.S. Strategy in Ukraine

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has resulted in nearly $300 billion in expenditures, over 150,000 lives lost, and the displacement of more than 10 million people, as reported by The Washington Post. While the war is framed around a simple ‘YES’ or ‘NO’ to Ukraine’s NATO membership, a deeper analysis suggests that the conflict is a strategic battle over maintaining global hegemon status and somewhere for mineral resources, particularly between the United States and Russia. It is also to undermine the silent rise of China’s threat against USA’s unipolar hegemony by stopping the subsequent bandwagoning of countries in Asia and Africa.

Geography

So the US is sending Carrier Strike Group One (CVN-70 USS Carl Vinson) to the Middle East, leaving CSG-5 (CVN-73 USS George Washington) to “hold the fort” in the western Pacific from the semi-safe environs of its quasi-permanent berth in Yokosuka, Japan.

Al-Qaeda-linked ‘rebels’ in Syria say they ‘love Israel’. USA gave them billions in weapons & support

The United States spent billions over years arming and training militants in Syria, many linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

Current US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan admitted back in 2012 that “AQ [Al-Qaeda] is on our side in Syria”.

In December 2024, armed extremists overthrew the Syrian government and seized power in the capital Damascus, in an operation sponsored by NATO member Turkey.