Syria

Economic Sanctions
Entrepreneurship

Fellows

Fellow

Michel Duclos

Conflict
Crisis Management

Fellow

Arwa Damon

Arabic
Civil Society

Fellow

Ömer Özkizilcik

Nonresident Fellow

Arabic
English

Fellow

Sinan Hatahet

Arabic
Economic Sanctions

Former fellow

Hind Kabawat

Former Nonresident Senior Fellow, Syria Project

Nonresident Fellow, Syria Project

Arabic
Civil Society

Fellow

Diana Rayes

Online Event
Thu, December 19, 2024 • 12:30 pm ET

Arabic
Civil Society

Past events

Putin loses in Syria. Is Russia in retreat?

Conflict
Europe & Eurasia
Middle East
Russia

Online Event
Tue, May 21, 2024 • 10:30 am ET

Exploring investment opportunities in northwest Syria

Conflict
Economic Sanctions
Economy & Business
Financial Regulation

Event Recap

Mar 29, 2024

Launching the Syria Strategy Project

By
JP Reppeto and Charles Johnson

On March 18, 2024, the Atlantic Council’s Syria Project, the Middle East Institute’s Syria Program, the European Institute of Peace, and Madaniya Civil Society Network launched the Syria Strategy, an intensive process of engagement with subject matter experts and policymakers in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East to develop a holistic strategy to […]

Civil Society
Conflict

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Middle East Programs

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.

EXPLORE THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL’S MIDDLE EAST PROGRAMS

Sign up for the MENASource newsletter, highlighting pieces that follow democratic transitions and economic changes throughout the region.

Content

MENASource

Sep 14, 2014

Syria: The Effect of Airstrikes on Aid

By Matthew Timmerman

The Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham’s (ISIS, ISIL, or the Islamic State) cavalier brutality draws headlines in the media, but its obstruction of aid in several Syrian governorates proves that it possesses more subtle means of inflicting cruelty.

Syria

In the News

Sep 12, 2014

Ricciardone on Turkish Role in Syria: We Had to “Agree to Disagree”

By Francis Ricciardone

Reuters quotes VP and Rafik Hariri Center Director Francis Ricciardone on Turkish support of extremist organizations in Syria:

Syria Turkey

In the News

Sep 12, 2014

Hof: We Can’t Destroy ISIS Without Destroying Assad First

By Frederic C. Hof

Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Frederic Hof writes for the New Republic on why President Obama’s strategy for combating the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham will be incomplete as long as it is not accompanied by more robust measures aimed at the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power:

Syria

New Atlanticist

Obama’s ISIS Strategy Likely to Put 5,000 US Troops Around Iraq Within 90 Days, Former CIA Chief Says

By Alex Ward and Liz Harper

Hayden: Plan Is a Step Forward, But US Should Know ‘We Are Putting Americans in Harm’s Way’ President Barack Obama’s new strategy for confronting the explosive growth of the ISIS militant movement in Iraq and Syria puts the United States “in a better place than we have been,” said General Michael Hayden, Atlantic Council board […]

Iraq Syria

Article

Column: Coalition Against Islamic State Must Include Iran

By Barbara Slavin

President Barack Obama is right to focus on the responsibility of the Sunni Muslim world to attack and expunge the cancer that is the militant group calling itself the Islamic State (IS). The group’s perversion of Islam in the service of its barbaric goals needs to be confronted first and foremost by those for whom […]

Iraq Saudi Arabia

Article

“Obama’s battle plan”

By Nicholas Burns

Obama’s foreign policy needs conviction of leadership IT’S NO secret that President Obama has had a troubled year in foreign policy. Critics from left, right, and center have lamented a global strategy lacking in toughness, strategic direction, and results. During the past few months, many of America’s closest friends have openly worried about America’s leadership […]

Iraq NATO

MENASource

Expert Reactions to President Obama’s Speech on ISIS

President Barack Obama has faced tremendous pressure to respond to the stunning growth of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS, ISIL, or Islamic State). The group’s videos, showing the beheading of two American journalists, brought the conflict to bear directly on the United States in a way that captured domestic attention as never […]

Iraq Syria

In the News

Ricciardone on Working with Turkey in Syria

By Francis Ricciardone

McClatchy quotes VP and Rafik Hariri Center Director Francis Ricciardone on conflicting interests in Syria between the United States and Turkey:

Syria

MENASource

Sep 10, 2014

A Real Anti-ISIS Coalition Would Not Be Regional, But Local

By Faysal Itani

The United States government has repeatedly called for a regional coalition to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). In reality, such a coalition would be difficult to assemble and is unlikely to destroy the group. This is especially true in Syria, where ISIS can retreat and regroup at will, and where there […]

Syria

In the News

Sep 10, 2014

Hof on Obama’s Strategy for Tackling ISIS Threat

By Frederic C. Hof

Reuters quotes Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Frederic Hof on President Obama’s strategy for combating the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham:

Syria

Experts

Fellow

Lesley Chavkin

Economic Statecraft Initiative GeoEconomics Center

Africa Economy & Business

Fellow

Hagar Hajjar Chemali

Economic Statecraft Initiative GeoEconomics Center

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

Fellow

Arwa Damon

Arabic Civil Society

Fellow

Michel Duclos

Conflict Crisis Management

Fellow

Sinan Hatahet

Resident Senior Fellow, Syria

Arabic Economic Sanctions

Fellow

Qutaiba Idlbi