SyriaSource

SyriaSource followed the dynamics in Syria through in-depth analysis of the impact of the conflict on Syria, its neighbors and the international community. Amplifying a diverse range of Syrian and regional voices—to reach both English—and Arabic-speaking audiences, SyriaSource transforms their words from strong but distant ideas to resounding perspectives not often heard among Washington and international policymakers. For the latest work on Syria, please visit MENASource.

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The latest on Syria


MENASource

Jun 4, 2025

Why Iraq should build bridges with its ‘new’ neighbor, Syria

By
Shermine Serbest

Iraq’s position on the Syria transition is split between two camps: the official government, and that of the powerful non-state actors.

Iraq
Middle East


MENASource

May 28, 2025

Sectarianism, social media, and Syria’s information blackhole

By
Gregory Waters and Kayla Koontz

Since Assad’s December ousting, Syrians have struggled to sift the truth from fake claims about security incidents across the country.

Civil Society
Middle East


MENASource

May 22, 2025

Lebanon’s 1982 war reverberates in Israel’s Syria campaign

By
Sinan Hatahet

Israel’s ongoing intervention in Syria appears different from its 1982 invasion of Lebanon—but beneath the surface, parallels are striking.

Israel
Lebanon


MENASource

May 19, 2025

Could Trump be ‘mediator-in-chief’ for Turkey and Israel in Syria?

By
Rachel Bradenburg

If Trump wants to achieve the Middle East’s “deal of a century,” its important that Netanyahu and Erdogan resolve their differences in Syria.

Israel
Middle East


New Atlanticist

May 13, 2025

Experts react: Trump just announced the removal of all US sanctions on Syria. What’s next? 

By
Atlantic Council experts

Our experts provide their insights on how the removal of US sanctions on Syria would affect the country and the wider region.

Civil Society
Economic Sanctions


MENASource

May 8, 2025

From rubble to rebirth: A model for Syria’s reconstruction

By
Mahmood Alhosain

Almost six months since Assad regime collapse, four key pillars will determine whether this new Damascus can seize the opportunity.

Civil Society
Democratic Transitions


MENASource

Apr 29, 2025

Why the US must not let Syria slip away

By
Luke Wagner

Reconsidering the uneasy US-Syria relationship amid reports that Trump and al-Sharaa will meet during the US president’s Saudi Arabia visit.

Economic Sanctions
Middle East


MENASource

Apr 1, 2025

Israel is making a miscalculation in southern Syria. Here is why.

By
Ömer Özkizilcik

Israel’s approach in southern Syria risks deepening sectarian divisions, eroding the Druze community’s standin, and fueling broader instability.

Conflict
Defense Policy


MENASource

Mar 31, 2025

Western sanctions against Damascus must evolve—Just as Syria has

By
Sinan Hatahet

The US can play a pivotal role in shaping the next chapter of Syria’s recovery by shifting its approach from maximum pressure to calibrated influence.

Middle East
Politics & Diplomacy


MENASource

Mar 25, 2025

Dispatch from Bekaa: Inside the sectarian skirmishes on the Syria-Lebanon border

By
Nicholas Blanford

Local Shia tribesmen have battled an assortment of Sunni jihadist militias and the new Syrian security forces dominated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

English
Lebanon

Content

SyriaSource

Aug 11, 2017

Raqqa’s Water War

By Feras Hanoush

Syria is one of the most water poor countries in the world. The United Nations Development Program reported that in 2009, just three hundred cubic meters per year of freshwater were available per person. This is a stark comparison to a yearly global average of at least one thousand cubic meters per individual. The war […]

Syria

Rebuilding Syria

Aug 10, 2017

Considering US Options for Implementing Reconstruction Projects in Syria

By Emelie Chace-Donahue

Although the United States government has yet to officially become involved in the reconstruction conversation, it will, with little doubt, be involved in some capacity in Syria’s reconstruction. Postponing the how, when, and where will only weaken America’s position vis-à-vis other actors in the country. In a press conference in May, special envoy Brett McGurk […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Aug 9, 2017

Hezbollah’s Military and Political Victory in Arsal

By Mona Alami

Hezbollah is turning its successful military operation in Arsal in East Lebanon against Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, a coalition of Islamist militias including the former al-Qaeda affiliate the Nusra Front) into a major victory for the Lebanese militant group. The campaign, which ended with the transfer of some eight thousand Syrian refugees and a few […]

SyriaSource

Aug 7, 2017

Thinking About Strategy: Part Four

By Frederic C. Hof

This fourth and final part of a series on American objectives and strategy for Syria aims to suggest parameters of a strategy to achieve the following objective (from part three): We seek a Syria that poses no national security threats to the United States, its allies, and its friends; a country pacified enough to permit […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Aug 3, 2017

Thinking About Strategy: Part Three

By Frederic C. Hof

Parts one and two of this series discussed the difficulties of officials thinking strategically about Syria, given the policy catastrophe bequeathed to the Trump administration by its predecessor. It then offered a list of outcomes the United States might nevertheless try to achieve. Although seeking nothing is an option, American disengagement would be a roll […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Aug 2, 2017

Who Will Take Deir Ezzor from ISIS?

By Abdullah Almousa

Observers are focusing increasing attention on the coming battle for Deir Ezzor, which will come next after the battle for Raqqa, the latter having been launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces on June 6, 2017.

SyriaSource

Aug 1, 2017

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham: The Fatwas that Ignited a War for Money

By Saleem al-Omar

In an audio recording, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s cleric, Abu al-Yaqzan al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Naji, a former member of the Salafist al-Nour Party in Egypt according to Arabi 21, issued a fatwa on the need to fight his former faction, Ahrar al-Sham. He further urged Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters to kill anyone who […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Jul 27, 2017

Thinking About Strategy: Part Two

By Frederic C. Hof

Part One of this series discussed why it is not easy to arrive at a coherent national security objective for Syria. The Trump administration inherited from its predecessor a policy catastrophe: the carcass of a state set upon by a ruling family whose homicidal excesses were protected by Iran (with which the Obama administration desperately […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Jul 26, 2017

The War on Syria’s Borders

By Abdullah Almousa

The geopolitical war on Syria and its future has entered a new, more complicated phase that will draw a new map of influence across the country. That map will be defined by the presence of military bases belonging to regional and global powers who are attempting to strengthen and stabilize the map of future influence. […]

Syria

Rebuilding Syria

Jul 25, 2017

Underground Hospitals: Investing in Protection

By Kathleen Fallon

Throughout the conflict in Syria, regime forces and their allies have deliberately and systematically targeted medical workers, ambulances, and hospitals in opposition-held areas. There have been more than 454 attacks on medical facilities in the conflict, with the Assad regime and Russia responsible for ninety-one percent of them. Over 814 Syrian health workers have been […]

Syria
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