Syria’s National Dialogue Conference: A Missed Opportunity
Ahmad al-Sharaa, Syria’s interim president, pledged in December that the country’s national dialogue conference on February 25 would chart a clear course for the country’s transition...
National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces
Profiles of the new Syrian military leadership, part 2
Beginning on Friday, January 3, the newly appointed minister of defense of the Syrian Interim Government, Murhef Abu Qasra, initiated a series of meetings with leaders of armed factions to discuss integrating...
Op-eds
Will COVID-19 Restrain Erdoğan’s Syria Ambitions?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ambitions in Syria have resulted in a two-pronged intervention, as Ankara targets the Bashar al-Assad regime in the war-torn country’s northwest and the Kurdish-led...
Op-eds
Exploding the Israel-Assad Myth
On Sunday, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) allegedly bombed targets at the Damascus International Airport and in a base in Dimas near the border with Lebanon. This latest strike, like all those befor...
Op-eds
Saudi-Qatari Rapprochement?
Today marked the first official trip abroad by the new Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. Al-Thani...
Policy Briefs
Erdogan’s Great Gamble
Something quite extraordinary -- perhaps even historic -- is afoot in Turkey. The country's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is engaged in a colossal roll of the political dice, an act...
Op-eds
American Who Fought for Al Nusrah Front Arrested in US
A former American soldier who admitted to fighting for al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria has been arrested and charged with "conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction outside of the United...
Op-eds
Free Syrian Army Commander Praises Al Nusrah Front as ‘Brothers’
Colonel Riyad al Assad, the founder of the Free Syrian Army and one of its top commanders, described the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, as "our brothers in Islam," and comme...
Op-eds
Al Nusrah Front Poised to Take Over Last Major City on Euphrates River
The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda in Iraq's affiliate in Syria, may be close to taking control of Deir al Zour, the last major city on the Euphrates River in the wes...
Op-eds
US to Aid Syrian Groups that Support al Qaeda’s Affiliate
The US State Department announced today that it will provide nonlethal aid to two Syrian rebel groups, the Syrian Opposition Coalition and the Free Syrian Army. Both of these groups support and a...
Op-eds
Al Nusrah Front Claims Suicide Attack on Syrian Defense Factory
The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, claimed credit for a suicide attack at a defense factory that occurred nearly three weeks ago. Several civili...
Op-eds
Al Nusrah Front Imposes Sharia in Eastern Syrian Town
View Larger Map The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda in Iraq's affiliate in Syria, has imposed sharia, or Islamic Law, in a town in eastern Syria that is close...
Op-eds
Al Qaeda’s Syrian Affiliate Claims 2 More Suicide Attacks
The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda in Iraq's affiliate in Syria, has claimed credit for two more suicide attacks against Bashar al Assad's military. In...
Op-eds
Al Nusrah Front Claims Complex Suicide Assault on Syrian Military Base
The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda in Iraq's affiliate in Syria, launched a complex suicide assault on a Syrian military base near the border with Israel. The terror...
Op-eds
Al Nusrah Front Emir Denounces US Terrorism Designation, Praises Foreign Fighters
The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda's branch in Syria, has released a statement from its leader denouncing the US government's recent designation of the terror gr...
Op-eds
Al Qaeda’s Al Nusrah Front Denies Reports of Death of Its Emir
The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda's branch in Syria, has denied media reports that its emir and two commanders have been killed. The "Media Department" of t...
Op-eds
Syrian Jihadists form ‘Supporters of the Khilafah’ Brigade
Five Syrian jihadist groups based in western Aleppo have joined together and announced the formation of the Supporte...
Op-eds
Syrian Jihadists, Including al Qaeda’s Al Nusrah Front, Form Mujahideen Shura Council
On the same day the US government announced that al Qaeda in Iraq's Al Nusrah Front was a terrorist organization, Al Nusrah and nine other jihadist groups banded together in the Syrian provi...
Op-eds
Al Nusrah Front, Foreign Jihadists Seize Key Syrian Base in Aleppo
The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, an al Qaeda-linked jihadist group that is fighting Bashir al Assad's regime in Syria, and allied jihadist groups took control of the last ma...
Op-eds
Syrian Jihadist Groups Reject Rebel Council, Call for Islamic State
Fourteen jihadist groups based in the Syrian city of Aleppo, a hub of fighting during the nearly two-year old rebellion against the regime of President Bashir al Assad, have banded together to re...