• Viewpoint
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Trump Administration Is Buying Time in Syria

    Feb 26, 2019Joe Macaron

    It is no secret that Trump does not see any financial or strategic value in keeping US forces in Syria; however, his policy there has been like an aimless roll…

  • Viewpoint
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Manbij Attack Exposes the Vulnerabilities of US Policy in Syria

    Jan 17, 2019Joe Macaron

    The US withdrawal from Syria may encourage Turkey and Russia to fill the vacuum, but IS’s Manbij attack may persuade Trump to stay a bit longer there.

  • Viewpoint
    SyriaUS Foreign Policy

    Trump’s Syria Announcement Underscores US Policy Meltdown

    Dec 20, 2018Daniel Brumberg

    The withdrawal of US troops will make it easier for Moscow and Tehran to advance a political solution ensuring that Assad and his allies remain in power.

  • Viewpoint
    IraqRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Russian Gains Are American Losses in the Arab World

    Oct 30, 2018Imad K. Harb

    Putin’s assessment of a receding American international influence paves the way for an even larger Russian role in the Arab world.

  • Viewpoint
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Raging—and Surprising—Battle for Southern Syria

    Jul 5, 2018Radwan Ziadeh

    The Syrian regime began its assault on the southern city of Daraa toward the end of June, assisted as elsewhere in Syria by Russian warplanes and Iran-supporte…

  • Viewpoint
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    A Crack in the Russian-Iranian Alliance in Syria?

    May 23, 2018Joe Macaron

    In a rare instance since the Russian intervention in Syria in September 2015, the policy differences between Moscow and Tehran have become public. This raised …

  • Viewpoint
    LevantInternational Law

    The United States Abdicates Its Responsibilities in the Middle East

    May 17, 2018Imad K. Harb

    It is impossible to see how the massacre of unarmed Palestinian protesters in Gaza or the moving of the American embassy to Jerusalem will help chart a way out…

  • Viewpoint
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    A Dangerous Israeli-Iranian Escalation in Syria

    May 11, 2018Joe Macaron

    In the most dangerous escalation since the establishment of the Golan Heights ceasefire line in 1973, Israel and Iran exchanged fire in southwestern Syria unde…