Former U.S. soldier charged for fighting in Syria

A former U.S. soldier has been charged with "conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction outside of the United States" after fighting along with Syrian rebel groups. Eric Harroun, 30, of Phoenix, Arizona was charged on Thursday in a U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, for firing rocket propelled grenades as a member of al-Nusra Front, an Islamist militant group with links to al Qaeda that the United States has deemed a terrorist organization. According to an F.B.I. affidavit, Harroun was involved in military action in Syria from January to March. He boasted about his experiences on Facebook and appeared in several videos posted on YouTube alongside rebel fighters. Additionally, he appeared in interviews with Fox News and Foreign Policy. Harroun served in the U.S. Army from 2000 to 2003, when he took a medical discharge after a car accident. He was arrested Wednesday upon his return to the United States after spending some time in Istanbul, Turkey. If convicted Harroun could be sentenced to life in prison. 

Syria

Mortar fire has hit the University of Damascus, killing an estimated 15 students in a week of heightened violence in the Syrian capital. Syrian state media and activists reported that mortar bombs hit an outdoor cafeteria at the university’s College of Architecture. According to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), several rounds of mortars caused a "large number of injuries." The SOHR estimated 13 people were killed, and about 20 people have been reported injured. Syrian state news agency, SANA, blamed opposition fighters for the attack, although no group has claimed responsibility yet. Earlier this week, the university’s law faculty was reportedly attacked, and at least five people were killed in mortar fire on Monday in central Damascus. Meanwhile, Turkey has denied it deported hundreds of Syrian refugees after riots and clashes at a camp near the border town of Akcakale. Turkish officials have maintained that about 130 refugees had used their right to "voluntarily return." According to Syrian refugees and activists, the riots were over poor conditions in the camp, while Turkish officials claim about 200 refugees attacked the camp’s security. The foreign ministry said the group of refugees left Turkey so that they wouldn’t have to "face prosecution."

Headlines  

• According to Iraqi officials, four car bombs have hit Shiite mosques in the capital of Baghdad during Friday prayers, killing at least 19 people and injuring 72 others.
• Cyprus has imprisoned Lebanese Swedish national Hossam Taleb Yaccoub accusing him of plotting attacks on Israeli tourists for Hezbollah.
• A Palestinian court has jailed a local journalist over a caricature of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that was posted on Facebook.

Arguments and Analysis

The Free Syrian Army (Elizabeth O’Bagy, Institute for the Study of War)

"Fragmentation and disorganization have plagued Syria’s armed opposition since peaceful protestors took up arms in December 2011 and began forming rebel groups under the umbrella of the Free Syrian Army. A lack of unity has made cooperation and coordination difficult on the battlefield and has limited the effectiveness of rebel operations.

Since the summer of 2012, rebel commanders on the ground in Syria have begun to coordinate tactically in order to plan operations and combine resources. This cooperation has facilitated many important offensives and rebels have taken control of the majority of the eastern portion of the country, overrunning their first provincial capital in March 2013 with the capture of al-Raqqa city. However, rebels have been unable to capitalize on these successes, and fighting has largely stalemated along current battle fronts particularly in the key areas of Aleppo, Homs and Damascus.  

In order to overcome the current military stalemate, the opposition needs to develop an operational level headquarters that can designate campaign priorities, task units to support priority missions, and resource these units with the proper equipment to execute their missions. Recently, the opposition has established a new national military structure that may grow to serve this purpose."

Egypt’s economy: Going to the dogs (The Economist)

"ANNOYED at being skinned in a Cairo bazaar, a medieval Arab traveller sniffed that rascally Egyptians behaved "as if there were no Day of Judgment." The IMF, which has been trying to extend a generous package of aid to Egypt since revolution pitched the country into turmoil two years ago, may have similar concerns. Along with its politics, Egypt’s economy has lurched ever closer to ruin, yet successive governments have blithely ignored the looming danger.

The current one, dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, is no exception. Nine months into office, President Muhammad Morsi has yet to devise an economic plan plausible enough to convince the IMF, whose proffered $4.8 billion standby agreement and stamp of approval could unlock as much as $15 billion in multilateral aid, mostly on generous terms, and slash borrowing costs overall.

Earlier this month Mr Morsi’s government also rejected suggestions that Egypt could dip into its own deposits at the fund for emergency financing. Fearful of imposing austerity ahead of a general election due later this year, it has instead borrowed at steep rates from local banks, beseeched friendly governments (mostly in the Gulf) for cash and fuel, and busied itself trying to push through legislation to allow for issuing "Islamic" bonds."

–By Jennifer Parker and Mary Casey