Blacklisting the Brotherhood
The Trump administration made history on November 24, 2025, when it issued an executive order calling for the U.S. government to designate “certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as Foreign Terrorist...
Syrians
Sectarian Fires Return to Syria’s Coast
Sectarian tensions appear to be resurfacing in Syria’s Mediterranean coastal region, the home to the country’s largest concentration of the Alawite religious minority. The group held a privileged position...
Policy Briefs
Turkish President Erdogan Claims Israel Is Biggest Threat to Syria
Erdogan Accuses Israel of Seeking ‘Fragmentation’ of Syria: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan labeled Israel the “primary obstacle” to a stable Syria on December 16,...
Flash Briefs
Congress Unveils Proposal To Repeal Syria Sanctions as Syria-Israel Tensions Continue
Repeal Likely to Pass: Congress is likely to repeal economic sanctions on Syria enshrined in the 2019 Caesar Act in the coming weeks, unveiling language for its repeal within the...
Flash Briefs
Israeli prime minister and top officials visit Syria ‘buffer zone’ as Israel-Syria talks stall
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led a large group of Israeli officials and military commanders to the buffer zone between Israel and Syria on November 19. The Israel Defense...
Op-eds
The Flood that Sunk the Palestinian State
When the world needed Palestinian grownups to help solve the problems in Gaza, it found none. The PLO was too corrupt and Hamas too irrational.
Op-eds
Tom Barrack’s diplomacy of optics: Fast deals, fragile peace
Tom Barrack’s high-speed diplomacy in Syria and Lebanon backfired, fueling instability, alienating allies and deepening mistrust across the region.
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
Syrian Druze are not entitled to self-determination, and Kurds cannot yet pursue secession
Syria is a patchwork of identities, par for the course in a region where novel nationalities vie with tribe and religion for the citizenry’s loyalty. For most of the country’s history, the Assad family...
Op-eds
Ahmed Al-Shara’s Foreign Jihadist Problem
The man President Donald Trump hailed as a “tough guy” who will bring stability to Syria is empowering extremists tied to Al Qaeda.
Op-eds
‘Path to Stability and Peace’: White House Terminates Most Sanctions on Syria
Syria Sanctions Terminated: The Trump administration issued an executive order officially lifting most of the U.S. sanctions imposed on Syria. The order is intended to “promote...
Flash Briefs
Lifting Sanctions on Syrian Regime Is a Grave Mistake
At a future point, many will ask an obvious question: why did the United States and Europe lift sanctions on Syria? The question will come after the likely fall of the Ahmed...
Op-eds
Abraham Accords Are Focus of Reported Israel-Syria Talks
Latest Developments Israeli, Syrian Officials Meet: Israel is reportedly holding talks with Syrian officials, even raising the possibility of Damascus joining the Abraham Accords — a series of bilateral...
Flash Briefs
Can Syria’s New Government Protect the Country’s Minorities?
Syria cannot hope to rebuild itself if it fails in preventing sectarian tensions from erupting into wide-scale violence.
Op-eds
Massacres in Syria Expose New President’s Struggle to Govern
Hundreds of fighters and hundreds more civilians are dead following the bloodiest clashes yet between the new Syrian government and militias loyal to the fallen regime of Bashar al-Assad. On March 6,...
Policy Briefs
Syria’s National Dialogue Committee: A Facade of Inclusivity
Syria’s new president pledged to champion inclusivity, yet he has stacked a key transition committee with like-minded Islamists. The seven-member National Dialogue Committee will organize the National...
Policy Briefs
Trump’s question for Arab rulers
Are they with America or against America?
Op-eds
Syria gets a new autocrat as Sharaa styles himself ‘president’
If the economy tanks, it’s likely Sharaa will return to his Islamic roots and produce a state similar to ISIS
Op-eds
In Verified Footage, New Syrian Justice Minister Presided Over Woman’s 2015 Execution
The woman kneels on the pavement, waiting for a bullet to the back of her head. She has been convicted of “corruption and prostitution.” Standing behind her is Shadi al-Waisi, who currently serves...
Policy Briefs
New Syrian transitional government meets with European, UN officials
The EU is also moving to reopen its mission in Syria, according to EU Foreign Policy head Kaja Kallas, France 24 reported.