Antiwar.com Newsletter | July 27, 2012

• Top News
• Opinion and analysis

This week’s top news:

Assad Grants Autonomy to Kurdish Region, Prompting Threats From Turkey: Syrian President Bashar Assad, amid growing unrest, has granted control of parts of northern Syria over to militant Kurds, long branded as terrorists by Turkey, in a provocation that could lead the conflict to break out internationally.

Al-Qaeda Infiltrating Syrian Opposition, With US Support: Al-Qaeda militants and other Sunni extremists are becoming a greater and greater part of the conflict in Syria, just as the US officially announced it was abandoning any pretense of a diplomatic approach in favor of toppling the regime through proxy rebel groups.

With Eye on Further Escalation, US Paints Iranian Naval Defenses as Threat: With an apparent eye toward continuing the Pentagon’s naval buildup off the coast of Iran, officials are fretting over what they see as Iran’s growing "retaliation capability," saying it would put those US ships in the Persian Gulf at risk if they started attacking Iran.

US General Accused of Stalling Afghan Hospital Abuse Probe: Lt. Gen. William Caldwell is coming under increasing pressure to answer questions about his apparent attempts to cover-up abuse and fraud at the Dawood National Military Hospital in Afghanistan.

Pakistan Cuts NATO Supply Route Again, Citing Security Concerns: Pakistan had only reopened the border to Afghanistan a few weeks ago, and traffic was just finally starting to approach pre-November levels when Pakistani officials announced another temporary closure Wednesday, citing security concerns.

Pentagon: US Mulls Mali Strikes: The Pentagon confirmed it is considering various ways to aid the Malian junta in reclaiming the country from secessionists, including launching strikes against the northern Azawad region.

Opinion and Analysis

• Justin Raimondo paid tribute to Alexander Cockburn and gauged the prospects of intervention in Syria.
• Kelley Vlahos previewed Mitt Romney’s big adventure.
• Ivan Eland examined the drug war’s expansion to Africa.
• Philip Giraldi warned of four more years of warrantless surveillance.

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