Syria’s Foreign Fighter Dilemma
March was a pivotal moment in Syria’s ongoing political transition for all the wrong reasons. In just a few days, pro-government militias massacred hundreds of Alawite civilians. There is a ...
Tag: Syria
Why the West Embraced Syria and Ditched Afghanistan
If you’re a pragmatic Taliban official in Kabul, the West’s warm embrace of Syria’s new leader must be jarring. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa—once affiliated with an offshoot of al Qaeda—has ...
Where Does Syria’s Political Transition Stand?
The fall of Syria’s Assad dynasty last December brought a glimmer of hope to a country mired in a 13-year-long civil war. Indeed, “Syria’s current transition to a new form ...
Syria’s Islamic State Is Surging
When U.S. President Donald Trump’s newly appointed special envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack, paid his first visit to Damascus on May 29, he flew into the country on U.S. military ...
Syria’s Missing Children
DAMASCUS and BARGAH, Syria—Hassan al-Abassi remembers his sister Rania al-Abassi as a woman of quiet brilliance. A dentist in Damascus, she and her husband, Abdul Rahman Yasin, set up a ...
It’s Not That Easy to Lift Sanctions on Syria
U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to end sanctions on Syria is welcome news. When the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad fell in December, the country was one of the most heavily ...
How to Think About Solutions in Gaza and Sudan
From Gaza to Sudan, the world is beset with historic humanitarian challenges. According to the United Nations’ refugee agency, nearly 120 million people worldwide are displaced because of violence or ...
U.N. Estimates Half a Million Refugees Returned to Syria After Fall of Assad
The United Nations estimated in a report this week that half a million refugees have returned to Syria since the fall of dictator Bashar Assad, with another million expected to ...
How Much Power Does the Aga Khan Have, Really?
When international delegations attended the European Commission’s conference on Syria on March 17, Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini, or Aga Khan V, attended alongside them. Addressing the conference, he reiterated his community’s ...
A New Authoritarian Era in the Mideast?
The meeting this week between a U.S. president who doesn’t care a fig for democracy and a former anti-American jihadist who is swiftly discovering that democracy isn’t likely to work ...
