The Heart Attacks Fueling Suspicion in Syria
When a commander in the Syrian army’s 52nd Division died in March, a Syrian Telegram channel announced the news in the language of an ordinary obituary: Nader Mutlaq, better known as Abu Hatem...
Druze
Syria Is Off the Terror List, but Washington Still Has Leverage
US President Donald Trump has fulfilled the promise he made to Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in May 2025, to give Syrians “a chance at greatness.” At the end of August of this year, Trump...
Op-eds
Turning a Page on Syria’s Proliferation Past
“We are now turning a page … Turning a page does not mean forgetting the past; it means just the opposite — which is confronting it, confronting it with eyes wide open,” declared Rafael...
Op-eds
In Syria, Selective Prosecution of War Crimes Fosters Disunity
For nearly a quarter-century, former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad presided over a repressive system that tortured and killed Syrians with little expectation that he would ever answer for its crimes. That...
Policy Briefs
Arabs Must Make Peace with Zionism
Arabs who remain at war with Israel routinely blame their endless conflict on the Jewish state, pointing to the Gaza war, Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership, and far-right ministers such as Itamar Ben-Gvir...
Op-eds
Countering Hezbollah Could Bring Syria and Israel Closer
“Syria is seeking a security agreement with Israel,” Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in an interview with the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera on July 26. A successful agreement, he added, could...
Policy Briefs
Turkey’s Cautious Bid for Regional Power
The difference in how Turkey treats Greece and Israel illustrates its diplomatic and military strategy.
Op-eds
Syria’s leader charms the world, crushes the Druze. Israel should be wary
Sharaa seems to be a pragmatic diplomat, but before pursuing warmer ties, Jerusalem needs guarantees that he will stop repressing his minority citizens
Op-eds
Why Lebanon’s Pilot Zones Matter at the Trump-Aoun Summit
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s meeting this week with U.S. President Donald Trump offers Washington an important opportunity to press Beirut to implement pilot zones in southern Lebanon designed...
Op-eds
Washington Is Starting to Treat Syria and Iraq as One Policy
In recent weeks, Syria and Iraq have positioned themselves to be key players in a new Middle Eastern order. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi was in Washington to meet U.S. President Donald Trump...
Op-eds
Suwayda’s Struggle
Syria’s Druze are trapped between Israeli protection and Damascus’s rule.
Op-eds
The Illusion of Representation in Syria’s New Parliament
Outside Syria’s parliament building in Damascus, lawmakers filed past the stone façade for the chamber’s first session since Bashar al-Assad’s fall. Inside, the freshly minted lawmakers stood to...
Op-eds
Syria opens new parliament, hosts Turkish Navy
Syria convened its new parliament on July 12, the first to meet since the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime in December 2024. The new parliament, called the People’s Assembly, met after Syrian...
Op-eds
Trump Shouldn’t Delist Syria Without Conditions
The inclusion of Syria on the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism list is important leverage the U.S. should not give up easily.
Op-eds
Hezbollah’s Lebanese Allies Are Ready to Dump It
Speaker Nabih Berri and Druze chief Walid Jumblatt have so far sided with Hezbollah by denouncing the June 26 Trilateral Framework between Lebanon, Israel, and the U.S.
Op-eds
Syria appoints new parliament as Israel tensions continue
On July 1, Syria’s government said that the country’s Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections had announced the final list of names for the country’s new parliament. The...
Op-eds
A Parliament Without Real Opposition in Syria
A year and a half after the overthrow of former dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Syria’s new parliament is finally taking shape. On July 1, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa appointed 70 lawmakers,...
Policy Briefs
Trading Away Lebanon: Washington’s Bargains at Beirut’s Expense
For the fifth time since 1958, the U.S. has placed Lebanon on the bargaining table, this time ready to sacrifice the country’s interests in pursuit of a deal with Iran.
Op-eds
Turkey’s Hejaz Railway Revival Is a Bid To Undermine Israel’s Regional Role
A railway originally built by the Ottoman Empire to project power across the Arab world is receiving a second lease on life as Turkey launches its latest bid to become the Middle East’s logistics...
Policy Briefs
Don’t Invite Syria Back Into Lebanon
Washington is contemplating the one thing that could rally Lebanese around Hezbollah.