J🔻

For seasonal context:

Data indicates that sect representation in positions of power in Syria before 2011 (government and military) correlates with the sect composition of Syria. Sunnis became more politically enfranchised as literacy rates went up between 1963 and 2000. By 2000, Sunni Arabs made up around 67% of the Ba'ath Party regional commands. This compares to 54% in 1963. Before the war, Sunnis (including both Kurds and Arabs) made up 74% of the Syrian population, according to the CIA. Dr. Michael Izady's Gulf2000 Project at Columbia University estimates Sunni Arabs to be 59% of the Syrian population in 2010. This indicates an overrepresentation of Sunni Arabs in positions of power. Alawites are also overrepresented, with Alawites making up around 13% of the pre-war population according to the CIA, and 20% of the party command in 2000. Christians are underrepresented, with 11% of the Syrian population before the war being Christian, while only 7% of party commands are controlled by them. Druze are proportionately represented, while all other sects or ethnicities are minimally or not represented (namely Kurds, Ismailis, and Shias). Of note, of the regional party command members in the year 2000 who had a military background (23 out of 98): 56% (13) were Sunni, while 43% (10) were Alawites. There weren't Druze or Christian party command members of military background. In the early days of the Ba'athist Syrian Republic, Ismailis and Druze appeared to play a very big role in the party, likely due to higher literacy rates and better educational backgrounds. Their presence declined as Sunni literacy rates rose, allowing for increased political enfranchisement and participation in political office by a larger pool of qualified individuals. Source: The Struggle For Power in Syria by Nikolaos van Dam, 4th edition (2011)

What the United Nations verified - not alleged, not reported, verified - is that Israeli forces raped prisoners with objects, raped them with dogs, shot them in the genitals, and did it consistently enough across enough facilities and enough years that they concluded it was policy rather than misconduct. Israel called it a “blood libel.” Whenever Israel breaks out that term, it’s eventually verified. AIPAC asset politicians and Israel First zionist clergy have assured us that Israel has the most moral military in the world. According to the report trusted by the U.S. for the last 15 years, the most moral military in the world has a huge rape problem.

An Iranian ballistic missile strike on a Kuwaiti air base on May 30 injured several Americans and severely damaged two MQ-9 Reaper drones, despite Kuwaiti air defenses intercepting the missile. Falling debris from the intercepted Fateh-110 missile hit Ali Al Salem Air Base, causing minor injuries to about five US personnel and contractors. One Reaper drone was destroyed and another seriously damaged. Source: Bloomberg