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Brent Scowcroft Warns Against Syria Intervention

New Atlanticist
Dec 17, 2024

Dispatch from Damascus: Celebrations and concerns as a new Syria takes shape

By
Ömer Özkizilcik

Syrians in Damascus are celebrating the fall of the Assad regime, but that joy is mixed with concern for how the country’s new leaders will govern.

Conflict
Crisis Management

Brent Scowcroft Warns Against Syria Intervention

MENASource
Jun 20, 2025

On World Refugee Day, complexities persist for Syrian returnees

By
Sinan Hatahet

While Syria’s political shift brings new hope, it also highlights the complex realities that still define the Syrian landscape.

Middle East
Migration

Brent Scowcroft Warns Against Syria Intervention

MENASource
Jun 10, 2025

Why DDR programs are the missing link to Syrian stability

By
Muhsen al-Mustafa

With the end of Western sanctions, Syria faces a rare opportunity to address the imbalances of the post-conflict period.

Middle East
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

Explore our Syria work

Syria Project

Our work on Syria sheds light on the ongoing struggle of Syrians to fulfill their desire for democratic self-governance as the United States and the international community grapple with the aftermath of a devastating civil war, millions of refugees across the Middle East and Europe, and ongoing security and political challenges spilling over Syria’s borders.


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Syria Strategy Project

The Atlantic Council, Middle East Institute, and European Institute of Peace collaborate with subject matter experts and policymakers in the US, Europe, and the Middle East to develop a holistic strategy to sustainably forge a pathway to resolving Syria’s crisis.

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Qutaiba Idlbi


Former Resident Senior Fellow, Syria

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

Putin loses in Syria. Is Russia in retreat?

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Europe & Eurasia
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Russia

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

Exploring investment opportunities in northwest Syria

Conflict
Economic Sanctions
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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 […]

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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.

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Content

New Atlanticist

Jun 15, 2012

Brent Scowcroft Warns Against Syria Intervention

By Barbara Slavin

Brent Scowcroft, a veteran Republican voice on US foreign policy, said the United States “isn’t smart enough” to solve the Syria crisis and “would pay a heavy price for [military] intervention,” in an interview with Al-Monitor Washington correspondent and Atlantic Council senior fellow Barbara Slavin.

Syria

New Atlanticist

Jun 5, 2012

Pressure Mounts on Russia To Switch Horses in Syria

By Barbara Slavin

The US, Europe and Arab nations are mounting a concerted effort to convince Russia that it can maintain its alliance with Syria without Bashar al-Assad at the helm.

Syria

New Atlanticist

Jun 5, 2012

The Quandaries of Anti-Interventionist Advocacy

By Dan Trombly

For those seeking to limit the role of military interventions in American foreign policy, making arguments convincing for a policymaking audience has been a persistent difficulty. Despite the existence of a significant popular aversion to intervention, mobilizing members of the policymaking elite behind anti-interventionist policy choices has always been difficult, and anti-interventionist stances, at least […]

Syria United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Jun 4, 2012

Syrian Intervention Risks Upsetting Global Order

By Henry Kissinger

The Arab Spring is generally discussed in terms of the prospects for democracy. Equally significant is the increasing appeal — most recently in Syria — of outside intervention to bring about regime change, overturning prevalent notions of international order.

Syria

New Atlanticist

Jun 1, 2012

On American Military Intervention in Syria

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

The massacre in Houla and other regime atrocities that have been unearthed do not change American strategic interests with respect to Syria. Horrible as they are, they don’t tell us anything new about the nature of this odious regime. If it was a bad idea to intervene prior to the latest revelations, then it remains […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

May 29, 2012

US Devises ‘Influence Games’ for Working with Syria, Levant

By Barbara Slavin

When is a war game not a war game? When it is a “competitive influence” game. For three days earlier this month (May 15-17), more than 100 people met in Annapolis, Md. to brainstorm about devising such an exercise. The actual game is to be played this summer at an air base in Florida. If […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

May 16, 2012

Building a New Future for Turkey

By Madeleine K. Albright and Stephen J. Hadley

The crisis in Syria and the confrontation with Iran over its nuclear program have highlighted the renewed importance of one of the oldest and most enduring relationships of the United States: its alliance with Turkey.

Syria Turkey

New Atlanticist

May 11, 2012

With Iran, Syria Looming, Can Obama Save NATO from Disaster at Chicago Summit?

By Barry Pavel and James Joyner

Coming off the heels of a very successful NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal, in November 2010, it looked like President Obama would make the coming NATO summit in Chicago May 20 and 21 – an election-year meeting of America’s strongest allies on American soil – a centerpiece of his campaign, highlighting great successes in his […]

Iran NATO

Press Release

May 7, 2012

UN Secretary-General Ki-moon Uses Harshest Rhetoric Yet in Call to End Bloodshed in Syria

WASHINGTON, May 7 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon tonight escalated the pressure on the international community to stop the violence in Syria, lamenting a “deficit of leadership,” while announcing a new deployment of observers to the country. 

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

May 7, 2012

Ban Ki-moon: Assad May Suffer Fate of Qaddafi or Taylor

By James Joyner

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hinted that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will suffer the fate of Laurent Gbago, Charles Taylor, or Muammar Qaddafi if his reign of violence continues. He declared, “no leader, anywhere, should imagine that he—or she—enjoys impunity for crimes of atrocity.”

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy
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Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

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Ibrahim Al-Assil

Resident Senior Fellow, Syria Project

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Conflict

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Amany Qaddour 

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Civil Society

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Diana Rayes 

Nonresident Fellow, Syria Project

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Civil Society

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Lukas Andriukaitis

Nonresident Fellow

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Disinformation Eastern Europe

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Elise Baker

Senior Staff Lawyer, Strategic Litigation Project

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Civil Society Extremism
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