[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety ofopinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every week.]
Regional and International Perspectives
External Support and the Syrian Insurgency While many have proposed arming the “moderate” rebels over the extremists, Thomas Pierret argues that “backing the most pragmatic insurgent groups is what Saudi Arabia has been doing for months now, and it seems to work.”
Reportage russe au coeur des combats et sur la folie des "rebelles" en Syrie A short Russian film with French subtitles discussing the events in Syria, providing an insight into how the conflict is depicted in Russian media.
PYD Leader To Turkey Stop Arms to Jabhat al-Nusra Amberin Zaman interviews Salih Muslim, the co-chair of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), who carefully reflects on his recent visit to Turkish officials in Istanbul.
Hezbollah’s Refugee Problem Hugh Eakin on the paradoxical situation whereby Syrian refugees are hosted by Lebanese people rooting for the side opposite to theirs.
Why are Palestinians blamed for violence in Lebanon? Moe Ali Nayel on various instances of discrimination endured by Palestinian and Syrian refugees in Syria.
Syrian Narratives
Life in the Rebel Strongholds Robin Yassin-Kassab documents his visit to rebel-held territories in Northern Syria, discussing his hosts’ stances toward foreign fighters and the costs of the revolution.
Abbas on Syria Qifa Nabki speaks with Abbas, a man who is “in his forties and lives in Beirut with his wife and kids, where he works as a driver and bodyguard for a Lebanese businessman. He’s an ardent supporter of Hizbullah and grew up in South Lebanon under the boot of the SLA.”
Honeymoon over for foreign journalists in Arab Spring countries? Jonathan Gornall writes : “As the Arab Spring dragged on, of course, the multiple complexities inevitably began to filter through into western media coverage.”
Why were the Turks kidnapped in Lebanon and who are the Liwaa Asifat al-Shamal who are holding the Shiites in Syria.Aron Lund draws a profile of the group’s background on Joshua Landis’ blog.
Iraq offers little historical precedent in the Syrian crisisAymenn Jawad Al Tamimi writes : “Only by appreciating that Al Qaeda fighters in Syria have been adapting and learning from their predecessors can one hope to devise strategies of countering their influence, such as encouraging more moderate factions to try to counter widespread perceptions of corruption and criminality.”
Implementing ‘Sharia’ in Syria’s Liberated Provinces Thomas Pierret suggests that it is “undeniably part of the reality, but there is more to the establishment of Islamic jurisdictions in the rebel-held regions of Syria than a drive to impose public morality.”
The Southern Front Michael Weiss addresses a quite neglected geographic center of conflict, the South of Syria, suggesting that “the real problem facing the southern front is that Jordan, which is a relative newcomer to the anti-Assad cause, has its own ideas of which rebels to support, and these often conflict with the preferred clients of the United States and Saudi Arabia. “
You’ve Forgotten About Syria Again, Haven’t You Janine di Giovanni on the importance of bearing witness to the events unfolding in Syria, despite the dangers this might entail.
Arms Shipments Seen From Sudan to Syria Rebels
Inside Syria
Syrian Brain Drain Hits Hospitals Nadim Rashidi about the uncertain and desperate context that leads many to leave Syria.
Crowdsourcing Syria: Voices on the ConflictSyria Deeply interviews three people from different backgrounds who live in Syria, and they all disagree with an American intervention.
Syrians protest against al-Raqqa's new rulers Protesters in Raqqa protest the authority of Al Qaeda in this provincial capital.
Islamist rebels execute two Shi'ite youths in Syria - monitoring group A failed prisoner exchange allegedly resulting in this horrific event
Blue-Eyed Jihad Harold Doornbos and Jenan Moussa meet with two foreign fighters in Syria.
Love, War and Revolution A brief reflection by Razan Ghazzawi.
I want to talk about Syria, not just my role as a freelance journalist Francesco Bocci, who wrote a piece that went viral on her work conditions as a female freelance journalist in Syria, responds to some comments she received following the publication of the piece.
Syrie: Patrimoine a la Derive Some images and links from social media attesting to the destruction of Syria’s heritage in various cities of the country.
Executive’s Guide to Syrian Refugees in LebanonExecutive Magazine provides a useful visual on the registered refugees in Lebanon, providing a partial image of various population movements.
Satellite Images of Aleppo, Now Half-Emptied, Show Devastation
Yellow Tie“A short video produced by the campaign, Ana Mashro3 7ayah (a collaboration between Sawtyeh and Awareness Organization). It is adapted from Neil Alsouri’s ‘The Tie Of The Revolution.’ Paintings and design by Comic For Syria.”
Policy and Reports
Breaking the Stalemate: The Military Dynamics of the Syrian Civil War and Options for Limited U.S. Intervention“Saban Center Senior Fellow Kenneth Pollack argues that until there is a breakthrough on the battlefield, there will be no breakthroughs at the negotiating table.
Chief of Party - Syrian Humanitarian Communications Programme (HCP)A job posting for Jordan.
Economy and Agriculture
The Poor Get Poorer in SyriaMotaz Hisso writes that “poverty rates have exceeded all expectations, reaching 80 percent of the population. Unemployment rates, on the other hand, are over 55 percent of the workforce.”
الفيلم الوثائقي: تحت السماء
A documentary entitled "Under the Sky" about the "freed" areas in Aleppo and the perception of a group of Syrian young men about the new realities in the city.
الربيع العربي بين الحلم و الواقع - ٣
سوريا الثورة و تحولات الخريطة الاقتصادية - الاجتماعية
البطالة تحرق ما تبقى من الاقتصاد
سجين مرة أخرى
يوسف عبدلكي و الأب باولو
المخرج وليد القوتلي
الرحلة في دمشق بين مناطق النظام و الثورة
شخابيط ثورية ٨: أنا خائن .. أنت خائن
تل الزعتر: الرواية غير المحكية
فحم أبيض: تحية ليوسف عبدلكي
الأكراد يغيرون قواعد اللعبة
بيان صادر عن الجيش الحر و الهيئة الكردية العليا ١٠-٨-٢٠١٣