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Syria Project

Our work on Syria sheds light on the ongoing struggle of Syrians to fulfill their desire for democratic self-governance as the United States and the international community grapple with the aftermath of a devastating civil war, millions of refugees across the Middle East and Europe, and ongoing security and political challenges spilling over Syria’s borders.


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Syria Strategy Project

The Atlantic Council, Middle East Institute, and European Institute of Peace collaborate with subject matter experts and policymakers in the US, Europe, and the Middle East to develop a holistic strategy to sustainably forge a pathway to resolving Syria’s crisis.

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Working with our allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the human potential of the region.

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Then Deputy Secretary of Defense Ash Carter visiting US Patriot missile unit in Turkey, Feb. 4, 2013

NATOSource

Aug 17, 2015

Delicate Negotiations Behind Withdrawal of Patriot Missile Units from Turkey

By New York Times and Reuters

From Eric Schmitt, New York Times:  The United States said Sunday that it would withdraw two Patriot missile-defense batteries from southern Turkey this fall, a sign that the Pentagon believes the risk of Syrian Army missile attacks has eased since the Patriots were deployed in 2013.

Germany Missile Defense

SyriaSource

Aug 14, 2015

Syria: An Open Letter to President Obama

By MENASource

US Representative to the United Nations Samantha Power said that the Assad regime has “apparently grown reliant on the repugnant use of barrel bombs as an instrument of terror against innocent Syrian civilians.” Over 2,000 barrel bombs dropped on Syria since the first week of July. It is within this context that Ambassadors Frederic Hof and […]

Syria

In the News

Aug 13, 2015

Stein on US Involvement in Syrian ‘Safe Zone’

By Aaron Stein

The Washington Post quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Aaron Stein on the plan for US involvement or support in the established ISIS-free zone on the Syrian border:

Syria

In the News

Aug 13, 2015

Hof on the Obama Administration’s Assad Position

By Frederic Hof

McClatchy quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on why the Obama administration still predicts ‘Assad’s days are numbered’:

Syria

In the News

Aug 13, 2015

Itani on US Airstrike in Syria

By Faysal Itani

The Daily Beast quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani on the repercussions of the recent US airstrike in Syria which reportedly resulted in civilian casualties:

Syria

New Atlanticist

Aug 12, 2015

Al Qaeda Affiliate Gets Out of the Way in Syria

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Nusra Front’s decision to leave frontlines against ISIS facilitates a US-Turkish agreement on a safe zone in northern Syria, says Atlantic Council’s Faysal Itani By deciding to quit frontline positions against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in northern Syria, al Qaeda-affiliate Nusra Front has made a US-Turkish agreement on establishing a safe […]

National Security Security & Defense

In the News

Aug 12, 2015

Slavin: Former US Ambassador: There Won’t Be Peace in Syria Without Prosecution of Assad

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin writes for Al Monitor, quoting Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof, on the need to prosecute the Assad regime for its human rights violations in order to attain peace in Syria:

Syria

New Atlanticist

Aug 11, 2015

Is Turkey’s War on PKK Hurting US Alliance Against ISIS?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council’s Francis J. Ricciardone says Turkey is making a distinction between Kurdish groups in Iraq and Syria The US-Turkish alliance against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) complicates but need not impede, and might even ease,  the United States’ military partnership with a Syria-based Kurdish group that has been instrumental in the […]

National Security Security & Defense

In the News

Aug 11, 2015

Stein on al-Nusra Withdrawal

By Aaron Stein

Agence France-Presse quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Aaron Stein on the decision of al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate al-Nusra to withdraw from the fight against ISIS, in light of the US-Turkish efforts to create an ISIS-free zone on the Syrian border:

Syria Turkey

In the News

Aug 9, 2015

Stein on Turkey’s Two Front War

By Aaron Stein

The Washington Post quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Aaron Stein on why Turkey’s two front war, against both ISIS and the Kurds, is not strategically smart:

Syria Turkey

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