Syria
Where the Russian intervention in Syria is headed
Russian President Vladimir Putin is well on the way to achieving several objectives of his military intervention in Syria.
Russia has ensured the survival of the Assad regime,…
Syrians between a rock and a hard place on Turkey coup
Mohammed — not his real name — is a Syrian opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad. In 2013, he fled to Turkey with his young family. A little over a week ago, he among the…
Syria: The gift that keeps on giving
The official announcement today that the government would refuse a US request for additional assets to be deployed in the Middle East against Islamic State came as little surprise…
Commentary
Iran has more at stake in Syria than America and its allies
Iran has more at stake in Syria than America and its alliesRodger ShanahanThe Australian4 January 2016 Click here for the online text.Rodger Shanahan
Turkey has got Syria wrong  again
The shooting down of the Russian aircraft by the Turks and the subsequent death of two Russian servicemen briefly got the tabloids talking about World War III but in reality this…
Commentary
Decision to keep Syria running was a masterstroke
Decision to keep Syria running was a masterstrokeRodger ShanahanThe Australian20 November 2015 Rodger Shanahan
Russia's Syria operation reveals significant improvement in military capability
Although relatively small in scale, Russia's military operation in Syria has highlighted some major improvements in Russian military capabilities.
Compared to…
How Iran became the first beneficiary of Russia's Syria Intervention
The first tactical victory emerging from Russia’s intervention in Syria came not on the al-Ghab plain in Syria’s Hama province or around Syria’s divided…
Commentary
Radicalisation woes still here
Radicalisation woes still hereRodger ShanahanThe Canberra Times27 October 2015Rodger Shanahan
Assad's Moscow cameo shows that Russia wants a deal
This week, unexpectedly, Syrian President Bashar Assad turned up in Moscow. He hasn't been seen outside Syria since unrest broke out four years ago.
The trip makes two important…