The West may no longer be the main target for terrorist organizations; turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa has given rise to an increased number of more locally-focused attacks in the last year.
UN Security Council Resolution 2052 regarding extension of the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) monitoring the Israel-Syria ceasefire until December 31, 2012 was adopted by the UN Security Council on June 27, 2012.
He was an unpromising youth who gained power by accident. Today he's the Arab world's most notorious dictator. But who really is this man? The Financial Times' Roula Khalaf profiles Bashar al-Assad.
As the death toll mounts in Syria, attention falls on the shadowy paramilitary gangs now implicated in some of the country's worst massacres, writes TIME magazine's Rania Abouzeid.
The conflict in Syria is less about democratic reforms and more about redistributing power along sectarian and ethnic lines--with troubling regional implications, says expert Vali Nasr.
Elliott Abrams says that tension between the United States and Israel--and the State Department's comment that Russia's approval is needed for military action in Syria--provide little hope that President Obama will take action against the Assad regime.
The weekend massacre near Houla that has galvanized international outrage may spark a stronger Russian stand against the Assad regime, says Syria expert Mona Yacoubian.
Kofi Annan, Joint Special Envoy for the United Nations and the League of Arab States, drew up this six-point peace plan for Syria. It was submitted to the UN in March 2012 and on March 27 the Syrian government accepted the proposal. The ceasefire came in to effect on April 12, 2012 but as reported by the UN and other bodies, has not been honored.
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The author analyzes the potentially serious consequences, both at home and abroad, of a lightly overseen drone program and makes recommendations for improving its governance.