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...
Syrian National Council
10 Things to Know About Turkey’s Interventions and Influence in Syria
Turkey intends to position itself as the most influential foreign actor in Syria. Following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Turkey built close ties with jihadist militias fighting Bashar...
Insights
Turkey and HTS: A New Era of Extremism in Syria?
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2023, Syria is now controlled by an alliance of opposition groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). While there has...
Op-eds
Egypt Picks Sides in the Syrian War
On February 1, a military transport plane left a Russian airbase in Latakia, Syria, landed at an airfield...
Op-eds
Syria Spillover: The Growing Threat of Terrorism and Sectarianism in the Middle East
Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Corker, and distinguished members of the committee, on behalf of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies,it is a...
Congressional Testimonies
Qatar’s Strategy in Syria
Qatar seeks to turn its newfound energy riches into political power by tapping the strength of...
Policy Briefs
How Saudi Arabia and Qatar are the Tortoise and the Hare of the Middle East
The toppling of Mohammed Morsi in Egypt was a major setback for Qatar. The uber-wealthy Gulf emirate had pumped billions of dollars into Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood government, only to watch...
Op-eds
New Name, Same Problems
A new Syrian opposition group has earned diplomatic recognition from France and Britain. National Coalition for Syrian Revo...
Op-eds
Two ‘Leaders’ Let the Blood Flow
We must do more to oust Assad
Op-eds
The Shredded Tapestry: The State of Syria Today
A Trip Report (Turkey, August 10-30) Background The trip was arranged for the purpose of helping an independent American film company do...
Op-eds
Stay Out of Syria
A response to Clifford D. May.
Op-eds
Damascus via Moscow
Despite its admission that the UN-backed Kofi Annan plan in Syria was failing,...
Op-eds
What Obama Must Do in Syria After the Failed Annan Plan
A Joint Bulletin of the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) The Assad regime’s brutality against the Syrian people continues unabated,...
Press Releases
US Policy on Syria: A Bad Joke Told at the Syrian People’s Expense
First Obama outsourced to Turkey the job of overseeing the formation of the opposition. The result was the Syrian National Council, which is controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, as the Muslim Br...
Op-eds
Free Syria
Maybe the murder of an American journalist in Syria last week will focus the American president’s mind. Marie Colvin was killed, along with a French photojournalist, when troops loyal to -P...
Op-eds
Standing Up to Assad
Washington persists in the belief that Russia can be swayed to withdraw its support for the Assad regime in Syria, thereby falling in line with US policy. The White House has called for Assad to...
Op-eds
U.N. May be Last Chance for Peace in Syria
Co-authored by Ken Ballen The U.N Security Council is considering the most important resolution yet on the brutal rule of terror that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has unleash...
Op-eds
Kurds and Sway
If there is one group in Syria that embodies the trans-national currents running through Syrian society, and which is likely to have increasing influence in the post-Assad era, it’s the Kur...
Op-eds
Lead from the Front
Last week, Syrian security forces withdrew from Zabadani, a town near Damascus where defectors from the army and other antiregime elements had been exchanging heavy fire with the army. In Lebanon...
Op-eds
How U.S. Can Help Stop Bloodshed in Syria
Co-authored by Ken Ballen After more than six months of silence, Syria's leader, Bashar al-Assad, spoke last week for only the fourth time since the beginning of the countr...