Author: Steven Sahiounie

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Hundreds of people have slept outside in freezing weather in the Damascus region, hoping to find a loved one who might still be alive in one of the many prison complexes run by former president Assad, who fled Syria on December 8. Recently, the unguarded prisons began to be broken into as thousands of prisoners found freedom, some after decades of torture and horrific conditions. Every country has prisons, but Syria’s were notorious for being filled with hundreds of thousands of political prisoners. Sednaya prison has been dubbed the “human slaughterhouse”. It is just…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator On December 8, the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia leaving the country to be occupied by a coalition of armed fighters led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The HTS and the numerous affiliated armed groups have taken over the administration of the country, and have not carried out any massacres or threatened the public safety. They say they will be caretakers until March when a transition government will be formed in Damascus and later elections to be held. The HTS and their affiliates are now conducting themselves…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator In 1980, the Swedish pop group ABBA released a hit song, “The winner takes it all”. As of December 8, 2024, the armed coalition headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, might be singing that song. In every conflict, there are winners and losers. On a scale from 1 to 10, the various factions involved in the Syrian civil war from 2011 to 2024 are rated below. The US and Israel are rated a 9 out of 10 win in the downfall of the Assad regime. In…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Syria is known for its ancient mosaics. A multitude of tiny colored ceramic pieces artfully arranged to create a beautiful scene; a piece of priceless art. The events leading up to the fall of the 24-year dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad involved a multitude of moving pieces that came together finally in the early hours of December 8 when Assad and his family fled in a private plane to Moscow for asylum. One of the main wheels of the machine which brought Damascus to its knees was Abo Muhammed al-Jolani, the commander of Hayat Tahrir…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect at 4 am, local time, on November 27. Israel carried out intensive airstrikes in Beirut prior to the deadline killing 18 people, and by the time the deal went into effect the smell of explosives was hanging heavy the air. By noon, the road leading south from Beirut were full of people anxious to return to their homes in the south, despite warnings from both Israeli and Lebanese authorities. Cars overflowing with people, and mattresses stacked high on the roofs, were in a traffic jam…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants a war with Iran, on the US tax-payers and voters expense, he had better attack quickly. On January 20, President Donald Trump takes office, and he was elected on an anti-war platform. We don’t know what Trump will do after assuming office, and we don’t know if Netanyahu will remain in office. His extremist ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, have shackled Netanyahu to a policy of genocide in Gaza, and they are advocating annexing the Occupied West Bank. Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon are…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator “From our side, we must do everything so that this war ends next year, ends through diplomatic means,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a radio interview aired on Saturday, according to the Guardian. Zelenskyy admitted the situation on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine was dire as Russia made strategic advances. He added that the war will “end sooner” than it otherwise would have after president-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20, 2025. On Friday, Zelenskyy spoke by phone with Trump, and said, “I didn’t hear anything that goes against our position.” Trump said in…

By: Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator On November 12, US President-elect Donald Trump announced that he had picked real estate executive Steven Witkoff to be his upcoming administration’s special envoy to the Middle East. Witkoff is a New Yorker, Jewish, a successful real estate executive, and a personal friend of Trump. While the exact details of what Trump wants to accomplish in the Middle East are yet unknown, he has repeatedly said he wants peace. However, to accomplish peace, he would need to partner with a different Prime Minister in Israel than Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu is not seen as…

The US authorities earlier charged a Tehran resident with laying the groundwork for an attack on the president-elect Iran has denied US accusations that it attempted to orchestrate a plot to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump before the November election. It has dismissed the allegations as a hoax orchestrated by pro-Israel actors in a bid to exacerbate tensions between Washington and Tehran. On Friday, the US Department of Justice claimed that Iranian officials had asked a man named Farhad Shakeri to “provide a plan” to kill Trump, adding that he was also tasked with carrying out assassinations of US and Israeli…

In a significant political shift, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, attributing the decision to a “crisis of trust.” Netanyahu has appointed Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz as the new Defense Minister and Gideon Sa’ar to replace Katz as Foreign Minister. In a televised address, Netanyahu stated, “As Prime Minister of Israel, my utmost commitment is to safeguard Israel’s security and lead us to complete victory. Amid ongoing conflict, absolute trust between the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister is essential. Unfortunately, although there was productive cooperation in the initial months of the campaign, that trust…