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Assad seems to be giving up on the reintegration of rebel-held Syria into the state apparatus. Thus, entrenching himself among the militias and what remains of his army, he has precious little left to offer anyone else—no carrot, only stick.
Abductions and killings by Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq threaten ancient minorities.
Four years into the conflict in Syria, the United States is screening opposition fighters for the first time to boost war against the Islamic State.
It is still unclear whether Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman’s trip will bring any deep changes in Russian-Israeli relations. However, the fact that Lieberman’s agenda in Moscow included such a wide range of questions shows that, at present, the two countries’ interests intersect at many points.
The battle to reclaim the Syrian city of Kobane was no Pyrrhic victory. It was a serious military change of fortunes, a major event in Kurdish politics, and an ominous sign of things to come for the Islamic State.
To avoid losing brigades to extremist rebel groups, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood must clarify their ideological stance toward a range of issues and disassociate themselves more clearly from extremist groups.
The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood had been in exile for a long time, so it had to work very hard to gain a measure of influence on the Syrian uprisings.
Syrian jihad will not be replicated by Central Asian combatants returning home, but fundamentalist ideals are long-established in this region and will not go away.
The international community has heavily invested in the armed forces of Syria’s neighbors, but hard security cannot be achieved without more robust humanitarian aid.
The Assad regime’s belief that, by hanging tough, it will compel the United States both to accept its terms and make its regional allies follow suit is a high-risk gamble.
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