The Israeli newspaper, Ha’aretz, is reporting that Iran and its client, Hezbollah, are aiding Syria’s President Assad in his fight against the rebels. The news is not necessarily surprising since Assad has long been allied with Iran. But it does indicate a ratcheting up of the pressure against Iran by tying it to the turmoil in Syria. The other thing to remember is that many of the rebels are supported by Saudi Arabia so both Iran and Saudi Arabia are fighting a proxy war in Syria. There are games within games. The Daily Star, a great newspaper from Lebanon, has an excellent article on how the turmoil in Syria is affecting Iraq.
A 77 year old pensioner in Greece committed suicide in the main square in Athens, and his death has rattled Greek society as it assesses the human costs of the economic crisis it has endured. In fact, suicides have increased dramatically in Greece over the last two years, but this particular one has raised all sorts of questions about the future of Greek society. What remains to be seen is how the death reverberates: will it increase the anger of Greeks leading to more violent protests? Or will it increase the social solidarity in Greece to face the crisis in a more united fashion?
The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad has secured the town of Timbuktu in Mali and it appears as if the Tuareg have established themselves quite securely in northern Africa. It remains to be seen if the move will spread beyond Mali, but there is no reason to believe that it will be contained within Mali. Thus, the repercussions of the overthrow of Qaddafi in Libya continue to resonate. Overthrowing governmentes is always a very problematic course of action.
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