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 10, 2024

The United States should look to Turkey as a regional balancing actor against Iran

By
Doga Unlu

US President Joe Biden has a diplomatic opportunity to strengthen an old partnership and position Turkey as a regional bulwark to encourage a more balanced Iran.

Conflict
Europe & Eurasia


MENASource

May 9, 2024

Syria holds the key to improved US-Turkey ties

By
Ömer Özkizilcik

It is crucial that the United States and Turkey overcome their differences because the governments need to strengthen their alliance—especially as it concerns Syria. 

Conflict
Europe & Eurasia


MENASource

Apr 25, 2024

The Syrian parliamentary elections are coming up. Should anyone care?

By
Vladimir Pran and Maroun Sfeir

The polls will be held again against a backdrop of massive displacement, unresolved conflict, partial occupation, and an intransigent regime.

Conflict
Elections


MENASource

Mar 8, 2024

Journalist Arwa Damon on conflict reporting: ‘You will leave a part of yourself behind’

By
Holly Dagres

The multi-award-winning journalist was interviewed by our MENASource editor to discuss her recent projects, mental health in journalism, and the importance of effective storytelling.

Human Rights
Middle East


MENASource

Feb 20, 2024

Here’s what an uncoordinated US withdrawal from Syria would look like. It’s bad for many partners, but especially Turkey.

By
Ömer Özkizilcik

An uncoordinated withdrawal from Syria by the United States could pose significant risks for Turkey, leaving the country alone against Iran and Russia.

Conflict
Europe & Eurasia


MENASource

Dec 18, 2023

2023: A year in the Middle East

By
Rachel Friedman

2023 was a tumultuous and tragic year for the Middle East and North Africa. It also produced moments of hope and diplomatic feats.

Iran
Iraq


MENASource

Oct 16, 2023

Is Captagon going to halt the Arab normalization deal with Syria? An expert weighs-in

By
Holly Dagres

New Lines Institute’s Caroline Rose was interviewed by our MENASource editor about the captagon crisis plaguing the region and what can be done to curb the illicit trade of the popular drug.

Economy & Business
Middle East


MENASource

Sep 5, 2023

The uprising in Sweida will continue until the regime changes in Syria

By
Rima Flihan

These demonstrations call for a change in the Syrian regime and the full implementation of UNSC Resolution 2254.

Middle East
Politics & Diplomacy


MENASource

Aug 24, 2023

No quick fixes for the Middle East’s captagon crisis

By
Karam Shaar

Counter-captagon policies should look further ahead and deeper into the causes of the demand in the first place.

Middle East
Politics & Diplomacy


MENASource

Jun 28, 2023

The Wagner rebellion is over—for now. But how will the events reverberate in the Middle East and North Africa?

By
Mark N. Katz

The June 23-24 rebellion led by Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin—aimed, he claimed, at replacing the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov (not Russian President Vladimir Putin)—has ended. However, reverberations from it are likely to continue being felt beyond Russia, such as in the Middle East and North […]

Conflict
Europe & Eurasia

Content

SyriaSource

Jan 17, 2019

The influence of domestic politics on foreign policy in Syria

By Emily Burchfield

On January 13, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israeli forces attacked Iranian weapons warehouses in Damascus the day prior, confirming similar reports by Syrian state media. What is unusual about Netanyahu’s statement is not the content—indeed, Israeli officials previously acknowledged carrying out hundreds of strikes on thousands of Iranian targets in Syria—but the context. The announcement broke with a “policy of ambiguity” under which Israel refuses to claim responsibility immediately after a specific attack; the rationale being to safeguard against potential retaliation. 

Israel Syria

SyriaSource

Jan 16, 2019

Expert analysis on US soldiers killed in Manbij

By SyriaSource

This morning reports of four Americans killed in Manbij, Syria surfaced with the Islamic State (ISIS) claiming the attack which came in the form of a suicide explosive vest next to a US patrol. The attack killed two US soldiers, a civilian from the Defense Intelligence Agency, and a US contractor. Several civilians were also caught in the attack with estimates of thirteen to sixteen casualties in addition to the deaths of two local security officers. The attack occurred in the main market near a girls’ school and restaurant as US troops met up with the local Manbij Military Council (MMC). Comments and analysis from our experts are below.

Syria

SyriaSource

Jan 15, 2019

Can anything be salvaged?

By Frederic C. Hof

President Trump’s impulsive “out of Syria” tweet of December 19, 2018 may have sacrificed high value, low cost American leverage in eastern Syria for precisely nothing.  Russian, Iranian, and Assad regime alarm that the West would work with local Syrians in areas liberated from ISIS (ISIL, Daesh, Islamic State) to create the long-awaited governance alternative to Bashar al-Assad, family, and friends have all-but-evaporated. 

Syria

SyriaSource

Jan 11, 2019

Winter storm in Arsal, Lebanon devastates vulnerable Syrian refugee communities

By Mohammad Abdulssattar Ibrahim, Tom Rollins, and Madeline Edwards from Syria Direct

A winter storm currently sweeping across the region has hit Lebanon hard, leaving tens of thousands of Syrian refugees in the country without proper assistance and shelter. While flooding has inundated and destroyed informal tent settlements dotting the fields and countryside of the Beqaa Valley—a mostly flat, agricultural lowland with Lebanese mountains to the west and the Syrian-Lebanese border to the east—conditions have been particularly poor in northeastern Lebanon’s Arsal region.

Middle East Syria

SyriaSource

Jan 2, 2019

Slowing down the train

By Frederic C. Hof

One thing to be learned from the uproar following the recent out-of-Syria presidential tweet is that “ready, aim, fire” makes just as much sense in government as it does on the firing range. By most accounts, US President Donald Trump is now where he should have been two weeks ago: in the “ready” phase, consulting with his national security team on the implementation of a strategy aimed at killing ISIS (ISIL, Daesh, Islamic State) in Syria and keeping it dead by preventing the pseudo-caliphate’s chief recruiting officer—Bashar al-Assad—from taking over liberated eastern Syria.

Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 21, 2018

Our greatest hits for 2018

By SyriaSource

As we look back at the tumultuous year for Syria in 2018, it's sadly ending with the withdrawal of US troops and an unclear US-Syria policy moving forward. The implications of this policy are likely far reaching. Time will tell what the damage will be and how the conflict will continue to evolve. Below we have listed our top viewed articles of the year. By far, the most viewed is the one penned by our outgoing director, Ambassador Frederic C. Hof as he moved on to other scholarly pursuits teaching at Bard College. Thankfully, he's continued writing and our viewers and center are grateful for it. 

Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 21, 2018

Pushing the Kremlin line on Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

And it will be only a matter of time before undisciplined, Iranian-led foreign fighters and revenge-seeking Assad regime operatives manage to midwife in eastern Syria either the resurrection of ISIS in its current form or in the shape of something even more impressively lethal than that which remains alive and breathing militarily. Russia, as Secretary of Defense James Mattis has suggested, is no friend of the United States. Signing on to its Syria endgame does not protect Americans or serve American interests.

Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 21, 2018

Chinese strategic engagement with Assad’s Syria

By Dan Hemenway

Canada moved to extradite Meng Wanzhou, the top financial officer for China’s global tech giant Huawei, on December 1, 2018 to the United States. The arrest, while closely linked to the ongoing US-China trade dispute and Western fears of Huawei as a Chinese espionage tool, was triggered by allegations that the company concealed payments from Iran in violation of sanctions.

Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 21, 2018

With US withdrawal, EU left alone to manage the Syrian crisis

By Mona Alami

The defeat of the last Islamic State (ISIS) stronghold in Syria concomitant with the sudden US announcement of troops withdrawal from the northeast; leaves Europe in a tight spot. In recent years, EU governments have spent billions to mitigate the repercussions of the refugee wave resulting from the Syrian war while working towards normalization with the regime on a fair transition process.

Syria

Rebuilding Syria

Dec 20, 2018

Act in haste, repent at leisure

By Frederic C. Hof

An American president impetuously overrules his national security team with a sudden decision on Syria; one that pleases the Kremlin, undermines US policy, and damages his own credibility. Essentially unmoored to the national security apparatus over which he presides, the president—strongly influenced by the views of a foreign leader—thinks he knows best in any event. […]

Syria
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