In this episode of State of Play on MintPress News, host Greg Stoker is joined by Ahmad of Propaganda & Co and Robert Inlakesh, journalist at MintPress News, to unpack the latest round of violence in southern Syria—and the foreign agendas driving it.

What started as clashes between Druze and Bedouin communities in Suwayda quickly escalated into a regional standoff. The Syrian government’s move to restore order with tanks was met by Israeli airstrikes in Damascus. Israel claimed it was protecting Druze civilians, but U.S. intelligence confirms Syria had given prior notice—and there’s no evidence linking Damascus to atrocities.

So what’s really going on?

Ahmad explains how this fits Israel’s decades-old “Doctrine of the Periphery,” a strategy to divide and weaken Arab unity by backing minority groups and non-Arab states. Inlakesh exposes how that strategy now dovetails with U.S. economic warfare, including IMF loan schemes and Gulf-led reconstruction efforts that are reshaping Syria into a client state.

From Tripoli’s port to Gaza’s fallout, the episode reveals how foreign powers use military pressure, economic debt, and manufactured crises to block any future Syrian sovereignty.

🎧 Tune in for a grounded, unfiltered breakdown of the imperial geopolitics behind the headlines.

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🎙️ State of Play is a production of MintPress News. Hosted by Greg Stoker, a U.S. Special Operations veteran and intelligence expert, the show brings you unfiltered conversations that expose power and propaganda across borders.