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

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


MENASource

Mar 19, 2025

Inside Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s diplomatic offensive with Syria’s Christians and Ismailis

By
Gregory Waters

HTS’s diplomatic offensive demonstrates the leadership’s political approach, which evolved over years of engaging with the Christian and Druze communities in Idlib.

Democratic Transitions
Freedom and Prosperity


MENASource

Mar 19, 2025

Why the United States must bridge the Iraq-Syria divide

By
Sarkawt Shamsulddin

With leverage over both capitals, the United States emerges as the linchpin in delicate diplomatic moment between Baghdad and Damascus.

English
Iraq


MENASource

Mar 18, 2025

Landmark SDF-Damascus deal presents opportunity, and uncertainty, for Turkey

By
Ömer Özkizilcik

Despite positive signals, critical ambiguities remain in agreement between Syrian President Ahmed Shara and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi.

English
Middle East


MENASource

Mar 10, 2025

Syria’s women face a new chapter. Here’s how to amplify their voices.

By
Diana Rayes , Hind Kabawat

It is critical for women to be involved in transitional justice and constitutional reform processes in Syria.

Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding
Syria


MENASource

Feb 26, 2025

Why post-Assad Syria complicates the Iran-Turkey rivalry

By
Giorgio Cafiero

Depending on what unfolds after Assad’s fall, there could be reason to expect a degree of Iran-Turkey alignment in Syria.

Crisis Management
Democratic Transitions

Content

SyriaSource

Apr 7, 2017

Frederic C. Hof’s Statement on US Military Strikes in Syria: This May Signal That the Free Ride for Mass Murder Is Over

By Frederic C. Hof

The American strike on Shayrat air base in Syria is an appropriate response to mass homicide by the regime of Bashar al-Assad. It was from Shayrat that aircrafts were launched on April 4, 2017 to deliver chemical munitions on the town of Khan Sheikhoun, killing several dozen defenseless civilians, including children. This American strike, which […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 5, 2017

Will Syria’s Chemical Attack Be a Turning Point in US Policy?

By SyriaSource

A chemical attack by regime warplanes in the Syrian province of Idlib has left over 70 civilians dead and at least another 100 seeking treatment for exposure to toxic gases. Though details are still being revealed, initial reports suggest that attack used sarin gas, the same deadly gas the regime used in an attack on […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 5, 2017

No Guns, No Justice: The Geopolitics of Law and the Culture of Impunity in the Levant

By Anthony Elghossain

Yesterday, the Assad regime rained chemicals down from the skies—killing scores of civilians, including children, as it has been doing daily since it triggered Syria’s struggle by killing peaceful protestors in 2011. In six years of war, the Assad regime has committed countless atrocities: it has massacred civilians in Daraya, gassed Ghouta, set up a […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 3, 2017

Voices of the truth: Journalists of Eastern Ghouta

By Youssef Sadaki

This article interviews four journalists dedicated to reporting on the revolution from its inception as the voices of the truth, and describing working conditions for journalists in a country considered “the most dangerous for journalists.”

Syria

SyriaSource

Mar 31, 2017

Obama and Trump on Assad: Change of Policy?

By Frederic C. Hof

Syria-watchers, including members of the United States Senate, reacted critically to statements by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley about the Trump administration’s position on the status of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In Ankara on March 30th Tillerson commented that Assad’s long-term status “will be decided by the […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Mar 29, 2017

Rebels Advance in Hama Countryside as Regime Mobilizes Army Again to Defend City

By Saleem al-Omar

Syrian rebel forces have reached the village of Qamhana in the northern Hama countryside, the scene of fierce clashes between regime forces and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (the Levant Liberation Committee), which includes jihadist factions such as the Fateh al-Sham Front (formerly the al-Qaeda affiliated Nusra Front). The village lies four kilometers (2.4 miles) from Hama […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Mar 29, 2017

A responsibility to project? Power, law, and ‘nascent norms’ in the Levant

By Anthony Elghossain

America and its allies eviscerated in practice what they elevated in principle. They adopted a bunch of tactically disjointed, strategically counterproductive, morally abysmal, and logically barren half-measures and remedial programs.

International Norms Syria

SyriaSource

Mar 28, 2017

Deir Ezzor, the ‘Forgotten City,’ Is Becoming Important for ISIS

By Hasan Arfeh

The city of Deir Ezzor joined the Syrian revolution early on, and protestors organized a number of demonstrations against the regime in 2011 and continued until the city emerged from regime control in 2012. After that, many groups in the Syrian opposition and Islamist battalions passed through Deir Ezzor. In July of 2014, the city […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Mar 28, 2017

Beyond Syria: Iran and Future Conflicts in the Middle East and Central Asia

By Ali Alfoneh

The catastrophic war in Syria seems to have gotten nearer to a tragic conclusion, but the end of this war may herald the beginning of other regional conflicts in the Middle East and Central Asia. What began as peaceful protests against the Assad regime’s dictatorial rule, soon evolved into a proxy war between Iran on […]

Iran Syria

SyriaSource

Mar 27, 2017

The Syrian Conflict Enters its Seventh Year

By Faysal Itani and Hossam Abouzahr

As the conflict in Syria enters its seventh year, it poses both new and old unanswered questions for US policy. The armed opposition is no longer a strategic threat to the Assad regime, and while international intervention would change that, it is unlikely. Fighting, which Assad is too weak to prevent, will continue in parts […]

Syria
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