Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

The Syrian Civil War: By now we are all familiar with the term, but how much to we really know? First, there are the mind-numbing statistics: since the war first began in March 2011, as part of the ‘Arab Spring,’ 250,000 people have been killed, 7.6 million have been internally displaced (40% of the population), and another 4.4 million have registered as refugees outside of Syria. While Angela Merkel and Germany receive attention (and applause) for taking in 1.1 million migrants (not all are refugees from Syria), Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and even Iraq, have 3.6 million UN-registered Syrian refugees. Then there are peace talks in Geneva. Oh, good, we think, perhaps this wretched situation may be winding down. Not so fast. Let’s take a closer look. First, it has long ceased to be a ‘Syrian Civil War,’ because as you will see below, it has become a regional war. Syria Rebels: The Syrian civil war first began when peaceful protesters in the southern Syrian city...

It was meant to be a fun and relaxing night in the ‘City of Lights.’ It was Friday night, 13 November 2015. People were dining out, attending a sports event, and also a concert. It was around 9:00 PM. Like the notorious attacks seven years ago, where 10 men from a boat terrorised and paralysed the city of Mumbai, Paris came under a well-planned, simultaneous series of attacks: La Belle Equipe: 19 dead by shooting; Le Carillon Bar & Le Petit Cambodge Restaurant: 12 dead by guns; La Casa Nostra Restaurant: 5 dead by gunfire; Stade de France, where 80,000 gathered to watch France v. Germany: explosion outside, 3 attackers dead; Batacian Concert Hall: several gunmen killed 80 dead. Death toll so far: 127 dead. The Islamic State has claimed credit for these attacks which are in retaliation of France’s participation in the Allied bombing of IS positions in Syria. Initial assessments say that these are jihadis who have returned back to France after trainin...