RAMZY BAROUD sees Gaza abandoned while the genocide continues
US Secretary of State John Kerry always projects an image of assured authority in his pronouncements on Syria, but recent statements have veered from one extreme to another.
Kerry was said by his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov at the weekend to have prioritised pushing “provisions that would take the heat off al-Nusra, which directs the militants in the unliberated parts of eastern Aleppo,” only to shift position on Friday.
The Russian Foreign Minister welcomed suggestions made by Kerry in Rome that he adjudged as in line with those of Russian experts, announcing on Saturday that Moscow would immediately send military officials and diplomats to Geneva to work out a joint plan of action for Aleppo in line with US proposals.
VIJAY PRASHAD looks at the web of militias and drug-trafficking gangs that emerged in the Sweida region through the Syrian civil war, and how they relate to recent clashes and Israel’s intervention



