Syria

Salvaging What Remains of the Nation State: The Missing Example of Egyptian Democracy

By Amr Hamzawy

Contrary to regimes in other Arab states in the Levant and the Gulf, the Egyptian government has never undermined Arab identity by spreading ideas of a dichotomy between Sunni and Shiite, of a conflict between Sunni-dominated areas and those living in the Shiite crescent, or of a conflict between Arabs and non-Arabs living in the […]

Which Way Now For US Policy Toward Syria?

By Frederic C. Hof

Is American policy toward Syria now at a turning point? Has the eruption of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) from bases in Syria into Iraq convinced President Barack Obama to change course? If so, in which direction?

Syria: Lesser of Two Evils?

By Frederic C. Hof

Three distinguished American ex-diplomats—Ryan Crocker, William Luers, and Thomas Pickering—wrote on July 12 in The Washington Post, “In Syria, the choice for Bashar al-Assad’s government is either to turn its military power against the Islamic State or to continue to kill fellow Syrians…

Syria: Should the West Work With Assad?

By Frederic C. Hof

The combination of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) running amok in Iraq and the appearance of an Assad regime military victory in western Syria have added octane to arguments that Washington should forego its step-aside guidance to Bashar al-Assad.

Ambassadors Rapp About Syria

With more than 162,000 killed in Syria’s ongoing and brutal conflict, the war has exacted a human cost that now surpasses the atrocities in former Yugoslavia & Sierra Leone. Stephen J. Rapp, Ambassador-at-Large of the US State Department’s Office of Global Criminal Justice, spoke with Ambassador Fred Hof, senior fellow with the Rafik Hariri Center for the […]

Storify: #ACSyria with Ambassador-at-Large of the State Department’s Office of Global Criminal Justice Stephen J. Rapp

By Justine Jablonska

War crimes and crimes against humanity – committed both by regime forces and particular extremist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham – continue in Syria.  Stephen J. Rapp, ambassador-at-large of the Office of Global Criminal Justice, spoke at the Atlantic Council on July 2 about the State Department’s ongoing efforts to promote […]

Accountability for Syria’s War Criminals is a Must Says Ambassador Rapp

By The Atlantic Council

More than 162,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011. The Assad regime and some opposition fighters have committed serious human rights abuses, including torture, mass killing, and rape. On Wednesday, July 2, 2014, the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East hosted Stephen J. Rapp, ambassador-at-large […]