Eight years after the conflict in Syria began, gloomy ‘how did it all go wrong for the West’ articles are appearing. Actually, there was no defeat for ‘the West’. The alternative to the Assad government prevailing was far worse. [...]

While the US has had a strategy to contain and isolate Iran, Iran continues to seek and build friendships with its regional neighbors. There are many indications that the US will not tolerate this for much longer. [...]

Senators Rand Paul and Tom Udall have introduced a bill to end the ruinously expensive conflict in Afghanistan, declaring ‘victory’ in the longest war in US history after 18 years, some $6 trillion and over 100,000 dead. [...]

The US has threatened Turkey with “grave consequences” unless it cancels the purchase of S-400 systems from Russia, with a Pentagon spokesman advising Ankara to seek “better solutions” and warning of “broader implications.” [...]

Earlier, Israeli media reported that the prime minister was forced to cut his visit to Russia short and return home amid allegations of bribery and media manipulation. [...]

The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has announced that it was able to take control over US drones flying over Syria and Iraq and extract "first-hand" information from them. [...]

The UK doesn’t want to be seen deploying special forces with the likes of the US, an ex-UN chief told RT, suggesting Syria is awash with “illegality,” after the British MoD admitted its personnel are active in the war-torn nation. [...]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party now lags behind its main competitors, who have united in the hope of putting an end to the ten-year rule of the right-wing party, for the first time since the election campaign started, according to polls done by the Channel 13 and the Channel 12 broadcasters. [...]

Turkey does not want to be on the hook with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the country’s leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, as he blasted the Washington-based organization. [...]

Israel, one of Washington's key allies in the Middle East, refused to impose anti-Russian sanctions and is seeking to sign a free trade agreement with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Israeli publicist Avigdor Eskin told Sputnik, explaining how Iran's plans to ink a similar pact with the bloc may affect Tel Aviv. [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Middle East Director Sarah Leah Whitson is under fire from Jewish organizations after claiming Israel is meddling in UK domestic politics by whipping up a “manufactured” anti-Semitism crisis. [...]

On Tuesday, senior Afghan officials, including former President Hamid Karzai, met with Taliban representatives in Moscow weeks after the insurgents met with US representatives to discuss an end to the war. However, no Afghan government officials were present at the meeting, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani strongly criticized the talks as undermining his government. [...]

Today on TruNews we detail how Israel is preparing to take over the internet as it’s cyber guardian and deploy a top secret military army to police thought and spy on the world’s population through artificially intelligent Internet-of-Things. Rick Wiles, Edward Szall. Israel's Top Secret Talpiot Seeks to Globally Dominate AI and IoT Could the Splinternet and 5G Become Militari [...]

Russia's S-400 missile systems were deployed at the Hmeymim airbase in Syria following the Turkish Air Force's November 2015 downing of a Russian Su-24 bomber on the Syrian-Turkish border. [...]

Syrian air-defense systems have repelled an attack in the skies over Damascus, state news agency SANA has reported. The Israeli Army said it was attacking "Iranian Quds" forces and warned the Syrian military not to retaliate. [...]

Donald Trump wasn’t bluffing when he vowed to cripple Turkey economically if it attacks Syria’s Kurds, analysts told RT. The move, however, would likely have serious negative repercussions for Washington. [...]

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the US a “force for good” in the Middle East. A closer look at the evidence reveals this to be the greatest lie ever told in the era of “fake news.” [...]

Tensions have spiked between Russia and the UK, following the doxing of personal information and pictures of state-funded media employees in both countries. So where will the escalating tensions lead? Sputnik has discussed the issue with Journalist Ollie Richardson. [...]

Donald Trump has told Benjamin Netanyahu that the US is paying billions of dollars a year for Israeli security, and that Tel Aviv should not be worried about losing its influence in the region after US troops withdraw from Syria. [...]

As a rising number of critics accuse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of moving political goalposts to avoid ongoing corruption charges, observers in Tel Aviv note that ‘Bibi’ and his Likud party are on track to win the April elections by a slim margin. [...]

As the death of Jamal Khashoggi continues to cause international outrage, new footage has emerged purporting to show the journalist’s killers carrying body parts in suitcases into the house of the Saudi consul general in Istanbul. [...]

Christmas celebrations have literally radiated out across Syria and western media was curiously silent in the face of such displays of unity and solidarity among Syria's diverse peoples. [...]