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Syria

Policy Analysis on Syria

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Syrian flag over a ruined building destroyed by bombing
Video
Brief Analysis
The Struggle for Peace in Syria: A Decade of Decisionmaking
Two former U.S. ambassadors and a Syrian opposition official examine the many diplomatic, geopolitical, and humanitarian lessons the conflict holds for the Biden administration.
Mar 11, 2021
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  • Bassma Kodmani
  • Robert Ford
  • James Jeffrey
Brief Analysis
Reshaping U.S. Force Posture in the Middle East
By adjusting carrier rotations, ISR capabilities, headquarters locations, and other key aspects of its posture, the Biden administration can contribute to regional security and self-sufficiency while still shifting toward great-power competition.
Mar 10, 2021
◆
  • Christine McVann
Articles & Testimony
How Should Joe Biden Respond to Russia’s Middle East Strategy?
Washington has prioritized counterterrorism for years and is only now shifting to great-power competition, but Moscow has never lost sight of geopolitics, and its actions in the region should be seen through that lens.
Mar 8, 2021
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  • Anna Borshchevskaya
KH
Brief Analysis
KH Publicly Leads Calls for Escalation Against U.S. Presence
After being struck by U.S. forces, Kataib Hezbollah dropped the pretense of the coordination committee and acted unilaterally.
Mar 7, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Assistant secretary of state David Schenker speaks at the Department of State in Washington, DC, alongside secretary of state Mike Pompeo
Video
Brief Analysis
Middle East Policy from Trump to Biden: Views from Inside the State Department’s Near East Bureau
The former assistant secretary of state in charge of the Middle East portfolio from 2019-2021 discusses his time in office and how the region’s challenges and opportunities are evolving at the start of the Biden administration.
March 10, 2021
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  • David Schenker
  • Robert Satloff
Protesters hold Syrian and Hezbollah flags
Brief Analysis
Assad Is Giving Biden Every Reason to Prioritize Syria
Even if the growing regional and geopolitical stakes were not sufficient on their own, the regime’s domestic negligence, illegitimacy, and criminality provide ample reason to shake up Washington’s approach.
Mar 3, 2021
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  • Aaron Y. Zelin
  • Oula A. Alrifai
Russian president Vladimir Putin
Articles & Testimony
How Russia Is Responding to Joe Biden’s Syria Airstrike
The omissions in Moscow’s statements on the U.S. operation are as revealing as the predictable hyperbole and hypocrisy.
Mar 1, 2021
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
U.S. soldiers at an Iraqi base after a rocket attack by Iran-backed militias
Articles & Testimony
Why Biden’s Airstrikes on Iran Militias Matter
The operation on the Iraq-Syria border could prove more significant than critics allow, but only if the administration keeps showing that there are limits to what it will tolerate in pursuing a new nuclear deal.
Feb 26, 2021
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  • Phillip Smyth
Brief Analysis
Biden’s Warning to Iran and Its Proxies: Implications of the Syria Strike
The administration’s early recourse to armed force may have surprised Tehran, but the proxy tests will continue, suggesting the need for sustained U.S. intelligence support and multilateral engagement with partners.
Feb 26, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
Pylon
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
“Pylon-Gate”: Reconstruction of a Muqawama Disinformation Operation
The KH-affiliated media group Unit 10,000 planted disinformation about a nonexistent U.S. airstrike, stoked the story, and then tried to remove its fingerprints from the original "fake news."
Feb 12, 2021
◆
  • Crispin Smith
◆ Militia Spotlight
Map "Syria's Borders Are Under External Control"
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
The Assad Regime Has Failed to Restore Full Sovereignty Over Syria
By ceding control of its borders and airspace to various foreign actors, the regime has essentially resigned itself to a limited but potentially durable existence for the long term.
Feb 10, 2021
◆
  • Fabrice Balanche
Brief Analysis
How to Use Militia Spotlight
Militia Spotlight provides timely, high-quality evidence, analysis and contextualization of militia activities in Iraq and Syria, both within government agencies and outside them.
Feb 10, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Syria chessboard international and local players
In-Depth Reports
Syria at the Center of Power Competition and Counterterrorism
Even as U.S. policymakers must stay focused on the Assad regime’s culpability, they also face a complex web of power dynamics in which Russia, Turkey, Iran, Israel, and other actors are attempting to secure their various interests.
Feb 8, 2021
◆
  • Aaron Y. Zelin
Articles & Testimony
Tunisians of the Iraq Jihad and How That Set the Stage for the Syrian Jihad
The disproportionate role of Tunisians in both campaigns can be traced to a wide array of factors, including travel routes, prison experiences, battlefield leadership, and propaganda patterns back home.
Jan 29, 2021
◆
  • Aaron Y. Zelin
Brief Analysis
Humanitarian Aid and the Biden Administration: Lessons from Yemen and Syria
Veteran NGO practitioners with deep experience in the aid sector discuss how Washington can help fix flawed approaches to assisting civilians in these two conflict zones.
Jan 25, 2021
◆
  • Jan Egeland
  • Alex Harper
  • Emma Beals
  • Jomana Qaddour
  • Elana DeLozier
Brief Analysis
How Might Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” Test Biden?
The new administration could face an Iranian military strike as early as inauguration day, along with multiple threats from the Assad regime, Hezbollah, and other actors down the road, all requiring clear demonstrations of U.S. resolve.
Jan 15, 2021
◆
  • Michael Eisenstadt
  • Christine McVann
Articles & Testimony
Russia Has the Edge in Managed Competition with Turkey
Although Moscow and Ankara are pursuing different aims in Syria, Libya, and the South Caucasus, they have managed to avoid direct confrontation.
Jan 7, 2021
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
Articles & Testimony
My Beloved Brothers in God, This Is an Invitation: The Islamic State’s Dawa and Mosques Administration
An in-depth study on how the group's outreach and proselytization activities evolved before, during, and after its jihadist state-building project in Iraq and Syria.
December 2020
◆
  • Aaron Y. Zelin
Brief Analysis
Al-Qaeda’s External Operations One Year After the Pensacola Attack
Drone campaigns have greatly culled the group’s leadership, but leaders are replaceable, and the guided-attack model seen in Pensacola could be a significant force multiplier for any locally rooted affiliates who seek to strike abroad in the coming years.
Dec 11, 2020
◆
  • Matthew Levitt
  • Aaron Y. Zelin
Articles & Testimony
Erdogan Will Play Biden, But Stick to Putin
The new U.S. administration will have a brief, early window to exert leverage, but Erdogan’s asymmetric relationship with Moscow may keep him from substantially altering Turkish policy on the S-400 dispute and regional issues.
Dec 9, 2020
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  • Soner Cagaptay

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Featured experts

Michael Singh
Michael Singh
Michael Singh is the Managing Director and Lane-Swig Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute.
Grant Rumley
Grant Rumley
Grant Rumley is the Goldberger Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where he specializes in military and security affairs in the Middle East.
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