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

Learn more about the Middle East Programs

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

Jun 20, 2014

Syria: Farmers, Teachers, Pharmacists, and Dentists

By Frederic C. Hof

In his June 19 press remarks about the situation in Iraq, President Barack Obama was asked whether the expansion of Syria’s war into Iraq courtesy of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) had changed his mind about the urgency of providing meaningful military assistance to Syrian nationalists ready and willing to fight jihadists […]

Syria

MENASource

Jun 19, 2014

Syria and Iraq: The “Skyes-Picot” Issue

By Frederic C. Hof

The violent convulsions gripping Syria and Iraq have given rise to the argument that the “Sykes-Picot” boundaries imposed by France and Britain in the Levant and Mesopotamia after the First World War will have to be redrawn to recognize and reconcile ethnic and sectarian divisions papered over by the Great War’s victorious allies. As someone […]

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Jun 17, 2014

ISIS Terrorists: Should Tehran and Washington Cooperate?

By Frederic C. Hof

Military success in Iraq by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has concentrated the minds of political leaders in Washington and Tehran. Neither the United States nor Iran wishes to see ISIS or any Al-Qaeda franchise prosper or even exist in Iraq. Neither Washington nor Tehran wishes to see Iraq splinter into multiple […]

Iran Iraq

In the News

Jun 16, 2014

Itani: To Save Iraq, Look to Syria

By Faysal Itani

Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani writes for US News and World Report on why supporting Syria’s moderate opposition will undermine militants from the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant:

Iraq Syria

In the News

Jun 16, 2014

Hof: Shelf Life of ISIS in Syria Has Expired

By Frederic C. Hof

Christian Science Monitor quotes Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Frederic Hof on how military gains in Iraq by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant affect the calculus of the regime in Syria:

Iraq Syria

New Atlanticist

A Strategy for Syria & Iraq

By Barry Pavel

The spread of the Syria crisis to engulf Iraq was predicted and predictable. Some have called the Syria conflict a “factory for extremism.” For years, many have been urging more robust US leadership and action in this crisis – not “boots on the ground” but using US military forces in a coalition with our allies and partners to […]

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Syrian Rebels Unite to Fight Off an ISIS Eastward Push

By Karen Leigh

As fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) prepared to march towards Baghdad on Friday, the often fragmented forces of Syria’s opposition formed a coalition to ward off the group’s anticipated expansion into the east.

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Syria: The Impact of ISIS In Iraq

By Frederic C. Hof

As the Obama administration considers a significant change of policy direction for Syria, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)—one of the more vicious of al-Qaeda franchises—runs amok in Iraq, cashing in on the profound rot personified by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. It seems that nothing in the Middle East stands still long […]

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Kurds Poised to Benefit From Baghdad’s Failures

By Wladimir van Wilgenburg

Despite the incredible gains that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has made in Iraq in the past few days, the Kurdish government has lent its security forces to aid in pushing the paramilitary group out of the north. But with the abandonment of Iraqi army posts, the Kurdish authority may now have […]

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Syria Community Liaison Consultant

After Mosul?

By Ramzy Mardini

The United States pulled its remaining troops out from Iraq two and a half years ago, ending a military occupation that lasted almost a decade. The civil war in Syria has become the strategic driver shaping the security dynamics across the Levant, and has breathed new life into militancy in Iraq, rejuvenating the confidence, resources, […]

Iraq Syria

Experts

Fellow

Mohamad Katoub

Civil Society Human Rights

Fellow

Bahar Ghandehari

Junior Policy Fellow

Afghanistan English

Fellow

Ömer Özkizilcik

Nonresident Fellow

Director, Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

Arabic English

Staff

Jonathan Panikoff

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

Economy & Business Financial Regulation

Active affiliation

Reem Salahi

Arabic Democratic Transitions

Fellow

Joumana Seif