Act 1. Obama's 2012 "red line" blunder sent a clear message that Assad/Putin can do whatever they please in Syria and the US won't do anything about it.

Act 2. Trump's bizarre infatuation with Putin plus it's non-interventionist rhetoric sends an even clearer message that Assad/Putin can do whatever they please in Syria and the US won't do anything about it.

Act 3. This.

This is a very interesting behind the scenes look at a piece of recent history.
I bet a lot of countries are thankful now that Israel took this step.

The whole city, destroyed.

The satellite photos of Syria at night are especially striking.

Here's something to give you nightmares: An excellent visual guide to the expansion of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria

This article is worth a read, because Der Spiegel is sadly one of the few serious news outlets. The moral: be very wary of anything you read about the Syrian conflict. Most of it is unverified and originates from propaganda. Most news outlets are responsible for just repeating what others publish without verifying.

Very interesting story about Israel's attack on the Syrian nuclear reactor. Five years ago, before Bashar Assad started killing thousands of his own citizens in order to stay in power. The world hasn't done anything about it yet, but you can be sure the odds of the world doing something thwould be even lower hadn't Israel done this.

Kind of like what happened with the Iraqi nuclear reactor.

Nobody should believe that if Assad falls, peace and democracy will come to Syria shortly after.

#Hamas reportedly breaks with #Syria: http://t.co/xV5iI1I1 #nyt

Interesting read. Hacking groups are becoming more and more prominent as political activists.

Interesting article fills in more details about the 2007 airstrike on Syrian territory.