Patrick J. McDonnell
Friday, September 30, 2016 - 07:50
Mexico’s decade-long, military-led crackdown on drug cartels has swelled the multitudes of desaparecidos — the “disappeared” who vanish without a trace. Their ranks include many with no known link to criminal gangs — kidnapped for ransom, robbery or revenge, or caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Thursday, July 30, 2015 - 07:02
Turkish war planes on Wednesday unleashed some of the heaviest bombing to date on Kurdish rebel strongholds in Turkey and Iraq, as the fallout from Ankara’s stepped-up anti-terror campaign reverberated in the nation’s political arena.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015 - 06:46
Repeatedly, weapons and other goods meant for a U.S. proxy force in Syria are ending up in the hands of Al Nusra militants, but that it doesn't stop the Obama administration from doubling down on its strategy: The Pentagon has unveiled a new plan to vet and train about 15,000 Syrians rebels — dubbed moderates by U.S. officials — in Turkey, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Monday, June 30, 2014 - 06:28
Weapons plundered by ISIS militants could alter balance in the Syrian and Iraqi conflicts.
Monday, May 12, 2014 - 07:13
On Saturday, authorities formally approved three candidates, Assad and a pair of relatively unknown politicians who are both government stalwarts, Maher Abdul-Hafiz Hajjar and Hassan Abdullah Nouri.
Monday, April 21, 2014 - 07:32
Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's nuclear program, told the official Al Alam news channel Saturday that Iran had agreed to redesign the Arak plant, about 150 miles southwest of Tehran, to produce far less plutonium, a key ingredient in nuclear weapons.
Friday, April 4, 2014 - 10:40
It's unclear how many died in the attack in Latakia province, but much of the anger is directed at Turkey for allegedly facilitating it.
Friday, March 28, 2014 - 09:36
Barring an unexpected development, such as Assad's death or direct foreign intervention, it's hard to fathom how the opposition can turn things around.
Monday, March 24, 2014 - 07:40
In recent months, Syria's so-called "southern front" has become the focus of a reinvigorated U.S.-backed initiative to bolster faltering opposition forces now losing ground in their three-year battle to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 - 08:28
The mostly Sunni Muslim demonstrators shutting down roads on Tuesday were protesting a blockade of the largely Sunni town of Arsal, close to the Syrian border in the northeast Bekka Valley.