Thoughts and questions about US withdrawal from Syria
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN There has been shock at the sudden decision by US President Donald Trump to withdraw from Syria. Here are some thoughts and questions, and maybe some […]
May’s train wreck: How the EU outplayed the UK in Brexit
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN UK Prime Minister Theresa May spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday, December 11, a day after she chose to cancel a vote in Parliament […]
Confusion over Damascus as air defense activated, state media reports and then deletes claims of “interceptions”
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN On Sunday night Syrian state media reported that air defense in Damascus was activated against a threat. Yet within an hour the state media had deleted […]
A progressive said she couldn’t understand the French protesters, other progressives explained it
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN In a bizarre twist a progressive activist said she couldn’t understand why any other progressives were support the yellow vests protest in France. The other progressives […]
US claims it killed ISIS commander, Syria says US hit its forces
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN In a bizarre series of events on Sunday the Syrian regime claimed that the US hit its forces south of Sukhna “The military source said in […]
Legacy: George H.W. Bush, architect of New World Order, dead at 94
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN My earliest memory of war was under George H.W Bush, who passed away Friday. It was 1990 and the US was mobilizing to send troops to […]
Syria downplays earlier claims of Israeli airstrike at Kiswah on Nov. 29 (with sources)
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN On Thursday night social media accounts that follow Syria lit up with reports of airstrikes south of Damascus. For instance Danny Makki began reporting the strike […]
Why Russia’s Kerch strait clashes with Ukraine matter
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN In a move to assert its authority, Russia closed the Strait of Kerch which links the Azov sea with the rest of the Black Sea and […]
The tragic murder of Syrian activist Raed Fares
Syrian media activist Raed Fares assassinated By SETH J. FRANTZMAN A “beacon of hope and bravery,” an icon, a modest and humble man who exuded the hope of the early, […]
Why was a Yazidi genocide bill voted down in Israel’s Knesset?
MK Svetlova: Israel was created from the ashes of the Holocaust, we are obligated to acknowledge the suffering of others By SETH J. FRANTZMAN In a preliminary vote in the […]
Seth J. Frantzman - author - analyst 