Akram Bunni

What Divides The Syrian People and What Unites Them!

Compassion and solidarity took hold of the Syrians in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. Overcoming the barriers of their divergent political positions and religious and sectarian affiliations, the Syrian people did not merely speak of their fraternity and send messages of support online…

The Ordeal of Syrian Asylum in Lebanon!

The tears in his eyes didn’t conceal his anger and resentment of the humiliation he felt when the owner of a Lebanese bakery refused to sell him bread because he is Syrian. He raised his head, and looked at his sister, who asked him again: “returning where? Are you insane? Yes, life here is awful,…

The Rules of Israeli Escalation in Syria!

Many are shocked by the submissiveness and passivity of the so-called Axis of Resistance in addressing the ongoing Israeli air and missile strikes targeting this Axis’ military bases in Syria. Adding to their bewilderment is that this servility persisted even as the rules of escalation changed,…

What Kind of Cold War Awaits the World?

It is not a hasty conclusion or a kind of simplification to consider Russia’s war on Ukraine to be a turning point for Russia’s relations with the West, creating a total rupture and replacing dialogue and cooperation with quiet hostility. In other words, those who thought the Cold War ended with…

Syria’s Children 2022

“A tent”… is this new year’s wish. The word was repeated by a 10-year-old girl, Shahad, from a camp in the northern countryside of Idlib after wind and heavy rain ripped her family’s tent apart. Samer’s (11 years old) wish was to escape the camp’s mud and resume his studies in order to become a…

Iran and the Afghan Lesson

Axis of resistance propaganda was not satisfied with cheering and jeering for what they considered a historic defeat “the great satan” was dealt in Afghanistan. Rather, they rushed to draw lessons and conclusions from that development and generalize them, hoping to protect themselves and their…

Costly and Delayed Wars in Syria

Talk of a broad battle being prepared to decide Idlib’s fate is gaining steam, amid periodic Russian airstrikes, Syrian artillery bombardment and news of the arrival of Syrian regime reinforcements to the east of the city… Increasing indications of an imminent Turkish military campaign against the…

The Constitutional Council and its Viability

As soon as United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen announced that the sixth round of Constitutional Committee meetings would begin in Geneva on Oct.18, questions emerged about the viability of this committee and the need for prominent Syrian opposition and civil society figures…

The Gaza War and Questions of Victory and Defeat!

It seems a difficult time to write about the Gaza war, as the wounds have yet to heal, and spirited slogans celebrating what they consider a divine victory are brimming with accusations of treachery directed against whoever expresses a different opinion. However, several days into the cease-fire…

The Syrian Revolution and the Question of Defeat

Ten years after it erupted, opinions diverge on the extent to which the Syrian revolution has failed, and so do the answers to the question: Has this revolution been finished off, and are we now living in the climate of its defeat; or is its affliction mere fleeting setbacks and temporary blemishes…