Syria

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 […]

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 […]

The Islamic State: First the Strategy, Then What?

By Frederic C. Hof

Not long ago President Barack Obama took some heat for committing truth: for saying that a strategy was not yet in place to counter the pseudo-Islamic, terrorist-criminal phenomenon calling itself the “Islamic State:” a murderous organization dominating pieces of Iraq and Syria, adding up in size to New England.