Syrian air defense mistakenly shoots down Russian plane
Russia points finger at Israel and French frigate, as US denies it was involved in air strikes that led to a night of rumors and escalating conflict By SETH J. […]
Syria reports major missile strike in Latakia hours after ‘buffer zone’ deal
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Massive explosions rocked northern Syria’s Latakia countryside on Monday night hours after a buffer zone deal was announced by Russia and Turkey. The deal appeared […]
Notes on ‘anonymous’: I’m an oped editor, here’s what media isn’t asking
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN On September 5 The New York Times took the unusual step of publishing an anonymous oped by a writer in the Trump administration. It was deemed of […]
The US Democratic party is finally starting to elect the diversity it claims to represent
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN “This is a fight for the soul of our party. This is a fight for the future of our democracy,” Boston city councilor Ayanna Pressley said after […]
Israel massively increased its airstrikes in Syria in 2017-2018, according to new report
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Israel carried out 200 airstrikes in Syria in a year and a half, according to a senior IDF source, The Jerusalem Post and Ynet reported. The reports […]
The Farrakhan elephant in the room at Aretha Franklin’s funeral
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN What was far-right religious leader Louis Farrakhan doing at Aretha Franklin’s funeral? The Forward asked this question, but most major media has sought to not discuss the […]
“Give back the keys” to the PA say Israeli commentators, Palestinians say no
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Yossi Beilin, who played a leading role in initiating the Oslo peace process suggested at Al-Monitor that Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas “hand back the keys” […]
Is Washington scrambling to prevent Iran-backed parties from forming Iraq’s new government?
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN The US is concerned that Hadi al-Amiri’s Fatah Alliance will form the next government in Iraq. After it came in second in the elections in May […]
Thoughts on US aid cuts to Palestinians
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN The US under President Donald Trump is cutting aid to Palestinians, the full results of those cuts are not clear. Nevertheless there is a lot of […]
Abadi tries to strong-arm the PMU, but why the sudden janus-face?
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi reportedly lashed out at Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a key commander in the Hashd al-Shaabi, the Popular Mobilization Forces of mostly Shia […]
