Trump’s Deal of the Century for Lebanon
Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas do not end wars; they only pause them. They make limited concessions to secure a ceasefire, only to exploit the fragile status quo to rearm and prepare for the next round. This...
Euphrates
Lebanon Will Keep Hezbollah’s Arms, Lose its South
Lebanon has made its choice. Instead of enforcing UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and its own cabinet’s decision to disarm Hezbollah, Beirut will allow the pro-Iran militia to keep its weapons but...
Op-eds
Time for Lebanon to Partner with Israel Against Hezbollah
Now that Lebanon and Israel’s interests are so clearly aligned in disarming Hezbollah, the time has come for the two states to cooperate toward this shared goal and lay the groundwork for peace. On...
Op-eds
Hezbollah leader vows to fight until the end in renewed war with Israel
On March 2 at approximately 1:30 am, Hezbollah attacked Israel with several rockets and drones for the first time since the November 27, 2024, ceasefire went into effect. The group officially claimed the...
Op-eds
Syria Looks to Offshore Oil and Gas for Economic Renewal
Damascus’ entrance into the energy market will require it to update its dilapidated infrastructure.
Op-eds
Turkey, The Kurds, And The U.S.: The SDF Partnership Hits a Strategic Wall
Masoud Barzani’s February 6 meeting with SDF commander Mazloum Abdi spotlights a decade of U.S. partnering that helped defeat ISIS in eastern Syria, but never produced a political endgame. After holding territory east of the Euphrates, the SDF suffered setbacks in mid-January clashes and then reached a January 30 understanding that allows Damascus to expand security control in remaining SDF areas. Some fighters could be absorbed into Syria’s army, while U.S. forces weigh next steps for ISIS detainee operations and their remaining footprint.
Op-eds
Transfer of ISIS Prisoners To Iraq Exposes Fragile Nature of Ceasefire in Syria
As northeastern Syria reels from the Syrian government’s offensive into areas held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), detained Islamic State (ISIS) fighters are being transferred to Iraq...
Policy Briefs
Over the Barrel of a Gun: Syria’s Deal With the SDF
“Our Kurdish people, descendants of Saladin, beware of believing claims that we seek harm against you,” Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in a televised address on January 16 to Syria’s...
Op-eds
US withdraws from Iraqi airbase, transfers Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq
US forces left Iraq’s Ain al Assad Airbase in Iraq’s Al Anbar Governorate, according to Iraq’s Defense Ministry, CNN reported on January 19. The redeployment of forces away from the large...
Op-eds
Syrian Offensive Against Kurdish-Led SDF Risks Escape of ISIS Prisoners
The ongoing conflict between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) risks unleashing tens of thousands of ISIS-linked detainees, reviving a threat that the United States and the SDF...
Policy Briefs
Fate of prisons holding Islamic State fighters uncertain as Syrian government fights Syrian Democratic Forces
Syrian government forces advancing into eastern Syria and combating the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are increasingly taking over areas where Islamic State (IS) members have been held in prisons and...
Op-eds
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces withdraw from Aleppo province after clashes with Syrian government
In the wake of intense fighting between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian government forces, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi ordered the withdrawal of his personnel from contested areas...
Op-eds
Damascus Poised To Attack Kurdish-Held Towns in Northern Syria
Syrian Troops Ready Offensive on Kurdish-Held Areas: Syrian government troops are preparing to launch an offensive against Kurdish-held towns in the north and east of the country...
Flash Briefs
Kurds at a Crossroads as Middle East Shifts
Syrian Kurdish military leader Mazloum Abdi’s recent meeting with top Kurdish officials of northern Iraq points to the region’s shifting political landscape. Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander...
Op-eds
Fifty Years of Gaslighting Israel at the U.N.
Five decades after its creation, it's long past time for the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to be shut down.
Op-eds
Two Years of Arab and Muslim Failure
Today marks the second anniversary of the horrific attacks when Hamas militants stormed out of the Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns. They killed, maimed and burned 1,200 civilians in a brutal door-to-door...
Op-eds
Can Syria’s New Leaders and U.S.-Backed Forces Unite to Defeat ISIS?
US Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led a delegation to Syria that met with Syria’s transitional President, Ahmed al-Shara’a, on...
Op-eds
Assad Is Gone. The Syrian Problem Persists
Nine months after Bashar al-Assad’s fall and Ahmad al-Sharaa’s rise to power, the UN Security Council met to address Syria’s ongoing crisis. The Council urged Damascus to establish a government “of...
Op-eds
New head of anti-Islamic State mission in Iraq and Syria takes command
Brigadier General Kevin Lambert took over as the new commander of the anti-Islamic State coalition of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) in a ceremony in Iraq on...
Op-eds
Delegation from eastern Syria meets with government in Damascus
A delegation from the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) met with the new Syrian government in Damascus on June 1. The talks are aimed at fully integrating the autonomous eastern...