In the early hours of Saturday, American, British and French missiles struck three regime sites in Syria. The military response promised by US President Donald Trump in response to the chlorine gas attack on Douma by the Syrian regime took a week to materialise. The operation was, in the words of US Defence Secretary James Mattis, a "one-time shot"; it was over within an hour of its launch. The targets selected for destruction were a military command post, a chemical weapons storage facility in Homs and a research centre in the Syrian capital of Damascus. Mr Trump, who wants to be seen as proactive on Syria, said the attack was intended to act as a "strong deterrent against the production, spread and use of chemical weapons". His French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, who envisages a role for himself as an international statesman and problem-solver, said it would send the message that the world would not tolerate the "normalisation of the use of chemical weapons". Theresa May, the British Prime Minister, having suffered a chemical poisoning on her doorstep, echoed Mr Macron's message.
But will these strikes really make a difference? Last year Mr Trump ordered limited strikes in response to the use of chemical weapons in Khan Sheikhoun. They, too, were meant to deter Mr Al Assad from deploying his chemical arsenal. But the fact that he marked the one-year anniversary of the attack by blitzing Douma with chlorine gas demonstrates the futility of such limited action. The military campaign by the coalition of the willing is driven by the commensurate desires of its three instigators being aligned, rather than being motivated by a cohesive, strategic plan to change the trajectory of the Syrian conflict by applying sustained force and compelling Mr Al Assad and his backers to negotiate. It is, simply put, a demonstrative statement; there is no strategy to speak of.
The potential for escalation – especially in a conflict with Russia, which has warned of grave consequences – is part of the reason for the West's reticence. Yet it is this very prospect of escalation that calls for a comprehensive strategy to end the war in Syria: the likelihood of a major clash between great powers will be high as long as Syria remains a conflict zone. Turkey has said the strikes were "appropriate" while Iran has made preposterous claims about "criminal" violations of international law while aiding and abetting Mr Al Assad's murderous rampages. All parties to the conflict are governed by their own self-interest but tokenistic gestures will do nothing to relieve the suffering of the Syrians. At the very most, they will reaffirm the message that chemical weapons will not be tolerated. Whether or not that message will be heeded in the absence of a military strategy that can actually go beyond taking out select military targets is a different matter. Mr Al Assad, who headed to work as normal yesterday and, bolstered by his Russian and Iranian allies, will plough on undaunted towards his target of crushing Syrian opposition once and for all.
The%20stats%20and%20facts
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
if you go
New schools in Dubai
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Company%20profile
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
AIR
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBen%20Affleck%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMatt%20Damon%2C%20Jason%20Bateman%2C%20Ben%20Affleck%2C%20Viola%20Davis%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Tiger%20Stripes%20
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Newcastle United 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2
Tottenham (Alli 61'), Davies (70')
Red card Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
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In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammed Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Saeed Ahmed, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Muhammed Jumah, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5