Syria

Failure to Launch Military Strike Against Syria will be Taken as a Sign of Western Weakness, says NATO SecGen

By James Tapsfield, Independent

The head of Nato has warned that failure to launch military reprisals against Syria will be taken as a sign of Western “weakness”, as Barack Obama struggles to get congressional support for action.

Syria: Keeping Hope For Peace Alive

By Fred Hof

There can be no prospect for a negotiated end to the Syrian nightmare so long as Syrian civilians are targeted by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for terror, death, injury, and flight.

Muslims and Islamists in Syria

By Faysal Itani

A recent exchange between Senator John McCain and Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade reflected a disturbingly popular view of the Syrian uprising: that it is a jihadist phenomenon, dominated by groups just as or even more hostile to the US than the regime.

Pentagon Ordered to Expand Potential Targets in Syria, May Also Use Bombers

By New York Times and Wall Street Journal

From David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt, New York Times:  President Obama has directed the Pentagon to develop an expanded list of potential targets in Syria

Don’t Use US Credibility as a Reason to Attack Syria

By Rajan Menon

What’s striking about the debate over President Obama’s plan for a punitive strike against Syrian President Bashar Assad is the extent to which it centers on countries other than Syria. There’s a reason for this. A concept that has had a long, significant though subtle influence on U.S. foreign policy is at work again: credibility.

His Holiness the Pope Speaks Out on Syria

By Fred Hof

In a letter to Russian President Vladmir Putin dated September 4, 2013, and addressed to Putin in his capacity as host for the G20 meeting in St. Petersburg, one interpreted by some as a rebuke to President Barack Obama, His Holiness Pope Francis had the following to say about Syria

What’s Next for Syria?

A September 4 Atlantic Council discussion moderated by Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof with Research Analyst Elizabeth O’Bagy, Brent Scowcroft Center Director Barry Pavel, and Hariri Center Fellow Faysal Itani debated the reasoning and potential effectiveness a limited US strike against Syria might have in changing the military calculus of those involved […]