• Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Europe logoCarnegie lettermark logo
EUNATO
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Lina Khatib",
    "Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi",
    "Lawrence Korb"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Gulf",
    "Levant",
    "Syria",
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Security",
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

Are Syrian Groups Turning Against the U.S.?

The U.S.-led air strikes threaten to alienate more moderate groups in Syria.

Link Copied
By Lina Khatib, Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, Lawrence Korb
Published on Sep 30, 2014

Source: Al Jazeera Inside Story

In the early days of Syria’s civil war, opposition activists and fighters pleaded with the United States to strike the Syrian government. It has now been a week since a U.S..-led coalition began bombing Syria. But they are targeting the Islamic State, not Bashar al-Assad’s forces.

Many opposition groups now fear U.S. President Barack Obama is no longer committed to seeing President Bashar al-Assad leave power. And increasingly, armed groups in Syria view the air strikes as against their interests, with some Syrian rebels even vowing to fight Western nations. Will the continuing campaign against ISIL alienate fighters who were previously seeking U.S. backing?

This interview was originally broadcasted on Al Jazeera Inside Story.

About the Authors

Lina Khatib

Former Director, Middle East Center

Khatib was director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Previously, she was the co-founding head of the Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law.

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

Lawrence Korb

Authors

Lina Khatib
Former Director, Middle East Center
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
Lawrence Korb
Political ReformSecurityForeign PolicyGulfLevantSyriaMiddle East

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Europe

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    In the Middle East, Europeans Bow Down to the United States

    Europe seems to have accepted its sidelining in the Middle East. The EU must reassert its support for the international rules-based order and step up engagement.

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Europe Should Not Let Nuclear Nonproliferation Die

    Amid uncertainty caused by the Iran war, the global drive for nonproliferation has stalled. With Europe diplomatically marginalized and countries reassessing their nuclear options, efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons risk becoming irrelevant.

      • Jane Darby Menton

      Jane Darby Menton

  • Commentary
    Can Europe Compete with the United States and China?

    Between the United States’ market-driven approach and China's state-led industrial strategy, Europe is reckoning with how it can remain competitive in the global economy. But is Europe in danger of becoming a U.S. or China colony?

      Noah Barkin, Anu Bradford

  • Europe flags citizens demonstration
    Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    EU Enlargement Forgets Europeans

    Preparing candidate countries for EU membership is no longer enough. As the enlargement process becomes a reality, the union must also prepare its own societies.

      Iliriana Gjoni

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Trump Turns NATO into a Tool of Coercion

    The full list of humiliations Europe has endured since Donald Trump returned to the White House makes for grim reading. But Washington’s adversarial approach to its allies undermines its own power base.

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
Carnegie Europe logo, white
Rue du Congrès, 151000 Brussels, Belgium
  • Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Gender Equality Plan
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.