Top Issues
- Afghanistan
- Al-Qaeda
- Arab Spring
- Boston Marathon Attack
- Egypt
- Global War on Terror
- Iran
- Iran - Energy
- Israel
- North Africa
- Palestinian Politics
- Syria
FDD Bookstore
Facebook Fatwa: Saudi Clerics, Wahhabi Islam and Social Media
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies has released the first-ever study of what radical Saudi Wahhabists are preaching to their followers about the United States and non-Muslims on social media sites.
Learn MoreAnalysis & Commentary - The Syria Project
Israel’s Strategic Clarity in Syria
It was perhaps fitting that the multiple Israeli strikes in Damascus last week followed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s address from Tehran. Nasrallah had warned last Tuesday... more...
The Unbearable Lightness of Syria Policy
“Arming the rebels — that’s an option. You look at and rethink all options. It doesn’t mean you do or you will. . . . It doesn’t mean that the president has decided on anything.” more...
Has Assad Already Lost Control of Syria’s Chemical Weapons?
While the debate continues on the administration’s apparent slip of tongue that is causing some much confusion about President Obama’s Syria policy or rather, lack thereof... more...
America’s Inexcusable Inaction
Twenty-five years ago last month, the small, northern Iraqi town of Halabja became irrevocably associated with places like Auschwitz, Srebrenica and other sites of human depravity. more...
Assad Reading the Signs
On Monday, the pro-Assad regime Lebanese newspaper As-Safir reported that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad hosted a large delegation of loyalist Lebanese parties in Damascus. more...
The Syrian Conundrum
President Obama warned the Assad regime not to use chemical weapons against the rebels. To do so, he said, would be to cross a “red line.” So now that it’s been crossed the consequences are . . . unclear. more...
WMD Deterrence in Syria
There is one more lesson to draw from Israeli revelations about Syria’s alleged use of sarin gas against insurgents, which Max Boot commented on yesterday. more...
Protracted Syria War Not in US Interests
Thirty years ago today, at Iran’s behest and supported by Hafez al-Assad’s regime, Hezbollah attacked the US embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people. The embassy bombing, which took place... more...
Holy Wars
In much of what we now call the Muslim world, Muslims are fighting Muslims. The conflicts fall into two broad categories: those in which militants battle militants, and those in which militants battle moderates. The outcomes of these conflicts matter. more...
The End of Syria
Last week marked the second year anniversary of the popular uprising in Syria. On its current trajectory, Syria is headed toward geographical fragmentation. As the security situation deteriorates and Washington... more...
Iran and Israel Fight, Lebanon Loses
It’s been more than two weeks since the Israeli airstrike in Syria against the arms convoy headed for Hezbollah in Lebanon. Bits of information, coupled with ominous warnings, are coming out from Jerusalem... more...
Israel’s Free Hand
Yesterday, reports emerged of an Israeli airstrike against a truck convoy suspected of carrying “game changing” weapons systems from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon. While previous reports had mainly... more...
A Tale of Iran, Syria and a Busy Oil Tanker
Although sanctions have forced Iran to cut back dramatically on its shipping traffic, some Iranian-linked vessels continue to slip through the net. For a brazen example, take the case of an Iranian-flagged oil... more...
The Nonexistent Red Line
Last week, we learned of a secret State Department assessment that forces loyal to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad had recently used chemical weapons. The State Department cable, signed by the U.S. consul... more...
Whose Side is America On?
In President Barack Obama’s inaugural address marking the start of his second term in office, he dedicated little space to foreign policy. While the president made no specific mention of Iran, he did... more...
The Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide
The transformation of the Syrian Revolution from a nonviolent and inclusive pro-democracy protest movement into a civil war, pitting majority-Sunni and majority-Alawite militias against each other in... more...
Pilgrims or Mercenaries? Iranian Hostages Freed by Free Syrian Army
The Free Syrian Army last week released forty seven Iranian citizens and their Syrian interpreter in exchange for 2,130 prisoners held by the Syrian government. The exchange of hostages was facilitated... more...
Obama’s Flexible Red Lines
In response to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s latest address, US officials and spokespersons have dismissively described the embattled dictator as someone “detached from reality” and “delusional,”... more...
Assad’s Cabinet
In December, the Obama administration acted on intelligence showing that Bashar al-Assad was preparing to use chemical weapons against his own people. Obama publicly warned the Syrian president... more...
Diplomatic Theater
If you’ve been following Syria news over the past week, you’d be forgiven for thinking that feverish, Moscow-centered diplomatic activity was on the cusp of producing an agreement for a political... more...