Syria

A panel of leading counterterrorism scholars and practitioners discuss the evolving face of the global jihadist movement amid changes in Washington’s CT posture.

Ahrar Sinjar is a worrying example of Iran-backed militias utilizing micro-minorities to undertake cross-border rocket attacks into the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and terrorist cell-building inside Iraqi Kurdistan.

Instead of leaving misinformation and whataboutism largely unchallenged, Washington and its allies need to express their perspective to Arab audiences more effectively while highlighting Russian and Chinese hypocrisy.

The Syria-based group now functions more like a government than a nonstate actor, portending a reorientation for the larger jihadist movement.

The Ukraine war has greatly boosted their diplomatic and military cooperation, but lingering friction over Syria, Libya, and Mediterranean issues will need to be handled carefully if this rapprochement is to endure.

Militia groups appear to be increasingly exercising their different kinetic capabilities in Iraq and Syria, but why now?

A new gas deal with Germany may help, but the Gulf states are taking a risk by intertwining urgent Western energy requests with seemingly tangential regional issues.

To offset the destabilizing measures coming from Turkey and the Assad axis, Western governments need to offer more development assistance—but in a targeted way that reassures local authorities and minimizes mismanagement.

Interviews with thirteen activists reveal a deep sense of disappointment but also a shared conviction that a new reform movement will eventually rise and deliver lasting change to the region.