Syria

The United States must strongly support Turkey even at the cost of diplomatic cooperation with Russia.

On June 15, 2012, the newly elected head of the Syrian National Council (SNC), Abdulbaset Sieda, gave Fikra Forum his first extended Western media interview since assuming the post on June 10. The interview was conducted by Skype, in Arabic, by Fikra Forum editor Lauren Emerson and contributors Maya Gebeily and Jehad Saleh. Key points include: 1. Sieda asserts that the SNC does not lead the FSA, and that this could lead to the "disorganized and haphazard use of weapons" and an "uncontrollable … security coup," as he says has occurred in Libya. 2. He says it would be fine to "coordinate" with the Kurdish opposition and others, rather than try and bring them back into the SNC. 3. He says there could be dialogue with regime elements "with no blood on their hands,” but only concerning "the timing and process of the fall of the regime." 4. He denies that the SNC should do anything to demonstrate its independence from the MB, which is "an essential faction of the Syrian opposition."

Washington's ties with Ankara have improved significantly in recent years thanks to a personal relationship between President Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two leaders have been in frequent contact, building a rapport that has translated into closer Turkish support for the U.S., including Ankara's 2011 decision

Foreign Islamists are beginning to play a role in the fight against Assad's forces, albeit a small one.

The Obama administration should take actions to overcome the obstacles to, and mitigate the risks of, bolder international action in Syria.

After the number of Syrian refugees entering Turkey reached 25,000 in April, public statements by senior Turkish officials began raising the possibility of military action. Specifically, Ankara has hinted at the possibility of establishing a buffer zone or safe haven inside Syria to defend the civilian population and contain the

Last week's massacre in the Syrian village of al-Houla, in which more than 100 civilians lost their lives, has called into question the conventional wisdom in Washington that intervention would make things worse on the ground. President Bashar al-Assad's disregard for the U.N. deadlines in early April to withdraw forces

As world powers make their way to Baghdad for another meeting with Iran in an attempt to resolve the nuclear standoff, former US negotiator Dennis Ross tells Al-Hayat that a political solution is still possible on the issue. Ross, who closely worked on the Iranian file in the last three

When the Syrian uprising began last spring, Turkey initially stayed behind Washington. It shied away from criticizing the regime of Bashar al-Assad, instead asking al-Assad to reform. When Damascus refused, however, Ankara moved ahead of Washington, taking an aggressive posture against al-Assad and suggesting it was ready to take action