How to tackle al Qaeda’s resurgent threat
The most formidable al Qaeda franchises have embedded themselves within complex local conflicts in failing states such as Somalia, Yemen and Syria, notes Ali Soufan, the author of “Anatomy of… Read more »
Category: Syria
Locate middle ground between autocrats and extremists in Syria
Six years after the outbreak of Syria’s civil war, the parties involved, whether aligned with the Assad regime, the Sunni jihadists, or others, have increasingly wielded extreme tactics to pursue… Read more »
Will Syria strikes trigger political transition?
The American strike on Shayrat air base in Syria is an appropriate response to mass homicide by the regime of Bashar al-Assad, said Ambassador Frederic Hof, a Senior Fellow with… Read more »
How TV can help fight ISIS
It is not accidental that the Islamic State has taken root in some of the most poorly governed countries in the Muslim world. State-building is an unpopular mission, from which… Read more »
Rebuilding Syria (and Iraq): Reconstruction and Legitimacy
On the sixth anniversary of the Syrian uprising, moderate rebels have never been weaker, analyst Charles Lister writes for Foreign Policy. Within two years of its resurgence, the Islamic State… Read more »
Grand bargain over Syria’s transition?
A grand bargain over Syria’s reconstruction and transition may become possible at some point in the future; for now, the reconstruction debate sounds like wishful thinking, analyst Roula Khalaf writes… Read more »
A critical moment for Syria’s Democratic Forces
A film about The White Helmets, Syria’s “largest civil society organization operating in areas outside of government control,” last night won an Oscar for best documentary short. The award coincides… Read more »
Counter-ISIS plus vs. jihadists’ ‘war of attrition’?
Al Qaeda and the Islamic State could reconcile their differences to present a different but persistent security challenge to the United States for the foreseeable future, experts in counterterrorism told… Read more »
Governance critical to Syria’s post-conflict stabilization
The prospects for the removal of Syria’s Assad regime and a near-term transition to a “moderate opposition” are poorer than ever, according to a new RAND report. But there is… Read more »
A strategy for a pluralistic, inclusive Syria
Syria is emerging as the newest and most important safe haven for al-Qaeda as the radical Salafi-jihadi ideology threatens to subvert the pluralistic and nationalist goals of the 2011 Syrian… Read more »