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

Jul 25, 2017

Thinking About Strategy: Part One

By Frederic C. Hof

The decision of the Trump administration to end its support for armed, anti-Assad Syrian rebels again raises questions of what the United States considers a desirable and attainable end-state for Syria, and how it plans to achieve it. These questions were avoided by an Obama administration that treated Syria’s humanitarian and security catastrophes as a […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Jul 24, 2017

Idlib Waits for Liberation from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham

By Saleem al-Omar

The preacher climbed the pulpit, his head covered, with an air of prestige and dignity. But the worshippers quickly realized he was a member of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an alliance dominated by former al-Qaeda affiliate Fatah al-Sham, and paid little attention to what he said. He took out a smartphone and recited his sermon […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Jul 20, 2017

LISTEN: Aaron Stein’s Take on Continued US Military Involvement in Syria, Despite Ending the CIA Program

By SyriaSource

On July 19, the Trump administration decided to end the CIA program meant to arm moderate Syrian rebels fighting against Bashar al-Assad. While the CIA ‘train and equip’ program ends, the US military involvement continues through air strikes against the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh), and a Pentagon run train and equip program for the […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Jul 19, 2017

Palestinian-Syrian Militarization in Yarmouk

By Tom Rollins

A recent article by Sulome Anderson on the presence of Hezbollah-trained Palestinian fighters inside Yarmouk camp, once Syria’s largest Palestinian community and its most culturally significant, evoked controversy when a pro-Hezbollah commentator called into question Anderson’s reporting: “Do [Anderson and her editors] believe that Hezbollah marks its vehicles…with the logo of a Syrian-Palestinian group? Additionally, […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Jul 14, 2017

Defining Down to Defeat

By Frederic C. Hof

Imagine if, in 1945, the War Department and senior American commanders in Europe and Asia had been permitted to define victory simply as the fall of Berlin and Tokyo, with no post-combat stabilization and reconstruction program for either Germany or Japan. Imagine if, in 2003, the United States had invaded Iraq without a realistic, implementable […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Jul 13, 2017

The Evolving Economic Model of ISIS Post-Caliphate

By Haid Haid

The US-led anti-ISIS campaign has largely succeeded in conquering the group militarily, which has made it difficult for the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) to operate as a conventional state. As a result of losing most of its urban centers in both Syria and Iraq, the ISIS governance model of controlling and administering territories seems […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Jul 13, 2017

Horrifying Testimony on “Syria’s Human Slaughterhouse,” Saydnaya Prison

By Hosam al-Jablawi

Thirty kilometers north of the Syrian capital of Damascus, on a towering hill somewhat removed from the urban centers, sits Saydnaya prison. A previous inmate, Omar al-Shogre, describes it as a place where you are brought to die. According to Amnesty International, no less than three hundred imprisoned opposition members lost their lives there each […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Jul 13, 2017

Post Conflict Stabilization: Turkey and the End of Operation Euphrates Shield

By Aaron Stein, Hossam Abouzahr, and Rao Komar

On March 30, the Turkish military, backed by Syrian rebel groups, ended its seven month military operation dubbed Euphrates Shield in northern Syria. The Turkish aims were twofold: force the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) from the border and prevent the Kurdish-majority Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from pushing west from its territory in nearby Manbij. […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Jul 12, 2017

The Syrian Elite Forces and the Battle for Raqqa

By Abdulrahman al-Masri

Alongside the US-backed forces storming into Raqqa is the all-Arab tribal group, the Syrian Elite Forces (SEF), headed by former Syrian political opposition leader, Ahmad al-Jarba. The SEF is composed of primarily two influential Arab tribes in the northeast and eastern towns of Syria: al-Shu’aytat and Shammar. So far the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Jul 12, 2017

The Turkish Military is Likely to Target Idlib Next

By Molham Ekaidi

Turkish media circles, especially those close to the government, are heavily discussing a Turkish military operation against, “terrorist networks.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself spoke of an impending military operation along the lines of “Operation Euphrates Shield, ” an operation that concluded in late March. The Turkish statement was accompanied by news of a […]

Syria
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