Syria

The Reina Nightclub Attack Might Change Turkey-China Relations

By Ivy Yang

The Reina nightclub attack in Istanbul on New Year’s Eve left 39 dead and dozens injured. When he was captured on January 17, Turkish officials said that the main suspect, Abdulkadir Masharipov, is an Uzbek national and a member of the Islamic State. Signs show that he might also be an ethnic Uyghur, and though […]

Trump’s War in Syria

Incoming US administration must draw a red line between al Qaeda and US-backed rebels, say analysts US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration must consider the far-reaching consequences of allowing US-backed opposition forces to work with al Qaeda in Syria, Charles Lister, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said at the Atlantic Council on […]

The Opposition Struggles to Regain its Balance after Aleppo

By Abdullah Almousa

Since the regime defeated opposition forces in Aleppo, the rebels have been struggling to regain their balance. Reeling from their recent defeat and struggling with internal challenges, though, they have yet to put forth any solid plan.

Trump Renews His Criticism of NATO: ‘It’s Obsolete’ and ‘Very Unfair’ to the US

By Donald Trump, Michael Gove, and Kai Diekmann, Times (London)

Excerpt from Donald Trump interview with Michael Gove MP and Kai Diekmann, former chief editor of the German newspaper Bild.

Tillerson on Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

When speaking about Syria, President Obama and his key aides have never denied the vital connection between the Assad regime’s collective punishment survival strategy—mass homicide, wholesale displacement, starvation sieges, Nazi-style penal practices, state terror—and the ability of Islamist extremists in Syria to live long and prosper. But by failing to complicate and slow the sanguinary […]

Analysis: The Fifth Corps and the State of the Syrian Army

By Abdulrahman al-Masri

On November 22, the General Command of the Syrian Army announced the formation of its first official volunteer-based military force, the Fifth Assault Corps. The official statement described it as a commando force aimed at “fighting terrorism,” which would be deployed alongside other army units and foreign allied forces (but did not specify where). Among […]

The Tillerson Hearing: What Was Said about the Middle East

By Elissa Miller and Emily Burchfield

On January 11, President Elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, participated in a marathon nine-hour confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The committee members pressed the former ExxonMobil CEO on a host of issues, including his reported ties to Russia and his views on extremism.

Combating Al-Qaeda in Syria: A Strategy for the Next President

By Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East

On Thursday, January 12, 2017 the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East hosted a panel discussion on a strategy for the next administration for combating al-Qaeda in Syria. The panel included Jennifer Cafarella, lead intelligence planner at the Institute for the Study of War; Sasha Ghosh Siminoff, president and co-founder of People Demand Change; […]

Escaping from Deir Ezzor

By Emily Burchfield

On December 27, Syrian media group Justice for Life Observatory in Deir Ezzor (JFL) published a report on the challenges facing civilians living in and fleeing from Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh)-occupied areas in Deir Ezzor. In early 2016, the Islamic State seized large swaths of the eastern province, establishing a conduit between the […]