Brad Hoff

About the author

served as a US Marine computer programmer at MCB Quantico, and after leaving the military began wandering around the Middle East, eventually making Syria his second home. He's authored multiple stories for his blog Levant Report which gained international attention and currently teaches in Texas.

Suddenly the world discovers Yemen as the Gulf Cooperation Council unravels: torture, black sites, claims of US involvement

It seems international media and human rights organizations have suddenly “discovered” the crisis in Yemen. After more than two years of horrific war and civilian massacres carried out by the Saudi-led alliance, even CNN has found a conscience, recently publishing The images Saudi Arabia doesn’t want you to see and “Yemen is silent, forgotten… even a purposely […]

CIA memo reveals ideas for Syrian regime change

A newly declassified CIA document explored multiple scenarios of Syrian regime collapse at a time when Hafez al-Assad’s government was embroiled in a covert “dirty war” with Israel and the West, and in the midst of a diplomatic crisis which marked an unprecedented level of isolation for Syria. The 24-page formerly classified memo entitled Syria: Scenarios of Dramatic Political Change was produced in July […]

Syrian water wars: Damascus still without water as battle for springs enters endgame

Did al-Qaeda orchestrate a mass chemical attack on Damascus’ water supply? Did the Syrian government bomb its own water station? The final battle to oust control of a key water facility from insurgents is now underway and the fog of war is thick as civilians attempt to ration this most basic element of survival. Over four million people […]

Assad’s (non)Demise: An interview with Kamal Alam

“Why is the Syrian Army, against all predictions, winning the war in Syria?” In June 2014, a little known British military analyst posed this question in a controversial, yet prescient article published on openDemocracy.net entitled, Pax Syriana: neither vanquished, nor all-conquering. The analyst, Kamal Alam, explained why the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) had not and would not easily fragment, leading […]