On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee conducted a hearing on the recent developments in the Middle East, particularly relating to Syria. The speakers were the honorable Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense, and General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) chaired the hearing. For full event notes, continue reading below or click here for the PDF Buck McKeon reflected on the ...

According to a copy of a speech from the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, John McCain (R-AZ) has become the first U.S. senator to openly call for U.S.-led air strikes to halt the violence committed by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The ultimate goal of the strikes, says McCain, would be to “establish and defend safe havens in Syria,” in order to create “safe-zones”  where opposition forces “can organize and plan their ...

On Monday, Arab League Chief, Nabil Al Araby told reporters that former U.N. Chief, and current U.N.-Arab League Envoy, Kofi Annan will head to Damascus attempting to engage in face-to-face talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Nasser Al-Qudwa, Palestinian foreign minister and representative to the Arab League will accompany Annan. Details of his mission have not been revealed, but Annan will attempt to “ease the path” to political dialogue. “The first ...

On Monday, the U.N. General Assembly prepared to vote on a resolution, proposed by Saudi Arabia, endorsing the Arab League plan introduced by the 22-member states this past Sunday in Cairo. The Arab League introduced this document in hopes of ending the ongoing violence in Syria and ouster President Bashar Al-Assad. The resolution echoes the resolution that was vetoed at the U.N. Security Council and details alleged human rights violations perpetrated ...

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called for an international coalition to be formed in order to stop Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s deadly crackdown from escalating any further. Davutoglu stressed that “clear and decisive statements” needed to be delivered to the Syrian regime from the broader international community. Davutoglu is scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington to discuss alternative measures. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with ...

U.N. Security Council may vote as early as Friday as intense negotiations take place at the U.N. Headquarters in New York. The U.S. and its Arab and European allies have reportedly made concessions concerning the text of the draft in exchange for a commitment from Russia to allow the adoption of the resolution. Western leaders discussed President Bashar Al-Assad's exile from Syria in hopes of ending the bloody conflict. Reportedly, ...

On Tuesday, world leaders met at the  U.N. Security Council to discuss a draft resolution proposed by Morocco calling for President Bashar Al-Assad to relinquish power beginning the transition to a democracy representative of the Syrian people. Western leaders arrived intent on convincing veto-yielding Russia, who opposes the current draft revolution, of approving an Arab led initiative which aims for the formation of a unity government followed by elections. In her remarks, Secretary of State Hillary ...

On Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council will take up a draft resolution calling on Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to step down and transfer power.  The meeting will take place amid increasing violence which brought an end to the Arab League observation mission over the weekend. Syrian opposition, which claims to have 15,000 constituents, have been increasingly involved in violent clashes as Syrian authorities attempt to re-take control of the suburbs surrounding Damascus. Arab ...

On Sunday, the Arab League released a proposal to Syrian Authorities following the end of the Arab League's month long observation mission last Thursday. The proposal, outlined by Qatari Foreign Minister Hamid Bin Jassima Al-Thani, called for President Bashar Al-Assad to concede power to his vice president who would then be responsible for forming a "national unity government" before upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. The proposal called for "dialogue with the ...

With the end of the Arab League's month-long observation mission serious concerns have been raised about the credibility of the monitors' report, which is scheduled to be released January 22, at Arab League headquarters in Cairo. The objective of the Arab League initiative was to assess the ongoing crisis in Syria, and determine if the Syrian Government was committed to ending its violent crackdown. The Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Arab League Secretary General Nabil El Araby demanding that the monitors' report ...