syriastew.com

Facebook was blocked in Syria over the weekend, in an apparent crackdown of online activities. The Washington Post reported many in Syria are angered by the block:
Syrian users of Facebook said on Friday the authorities had blocked access to the social network Web site as part of a crackdown on political activism on the Internet.
“Facebook […]

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Syria has finally accepted an invite to the Annapolis Mid-East Peace Conference, after learning that the Golan Heights could be on the agenda. The Assad regime is sending deputy Foreign Minster, Faisal Mekdad.
The LA Times reported that sending the deputy minister may be a nod to Syria’s ally Iran:
Sending Moqdad instead of the more […]

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The AP gave a great run-down on the dispute between Israel and Syria involving the Golan Heights.  Syria hopes that the issue will be addressed at this week’s Annapolis Peace Conference.  So for those of you who don’t know, here are the basics:
Location: Plateau at southwestern corner of Syria overlooking Sea of Galilee and northern […]

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Syria Today just celebrated its third birthday, a real cause for celebration.
Why?
The magazine is a joint venture between Syrians and Americans, and has managed to survive in Damascus, where media is severely restricted. The fact that Syria and America have been at odds over a wide array of issues makes the magazine’s survival […]

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It appears that Syria may take part in the upcoming Annapolis peace talks in Maryland, but it is unclear at what level-will it be the president or an envoy? Also unclear is whether the issue of the Golan Heights will be on table, or if the talks will focus primarily on resolving the conflict between […]

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In September 2007, I spent time in Damascus, Syria, and while there, I tried to keep a blog of my journey.  But many days, I would go to the internet cafe, only to find that several blog sites had seemingly been blocked.  It was just one occasion of several that reminded me–somebody in the government […]

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Creative Syria, a great online forum focusing on Syria issues, is hosting a discussion this month on Syria’s foreign policy. With what countries should Syria develop stronger relations? There’s quite a bit of activity right now with Syria and several nations, including Turkey, Iran and Russia.
The discussion is sure to be lively. […]

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Joshua Landis has had a life-long relationship with Syria, thanks to a childhood spent in Lebanon, two fulbright years in Syria, and countless trips. He is the Co-director at the Center of Peace Studies at the University of Oklahoma, and a widely-read blogger at Syria Comment.
I recently caught up with Joshua by phone […]

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Written by David Ignatius, Daily Star, Lebanon, Saturday November 10, 2007
Efraim Halevy, the former head of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, titled his memoirs, “Man in the Shadows.” But now that he’s out in the sunlight, the 73-year-old retired spy chief has some surprisingly contrarian things to say about Iran and Syria. The gist of […]

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The Syrian government took a group of journalists and officials, including the U.S. military attache, on a tour of the Tanaf border post, hoping to showcase new security measures on its long border with Iraq on Saturday.
U.S. and Iraqi officials have long been criticial of the Syrian government, claiming it had not done enough to […]

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