Analysis & Commentary
Focus on Chemical Weapons in Syria
Two and half years into the Syrian civil war, with 93,000 confirmed deaths and counting, more than 5 million displaced civilians (that’s 25 percent of the entire population)...
US to Arm Syrian Rebels After Chemical Weapons ‘Red Line’ is Crossed
After determining that President Bashir al Assad's regime crossed the "red line" by using chemical weapons, the Obama administration has decided to increase aid to Syrian...
Neither Assad Nor the Jihadists
After two years of assuming that while “Assad must go” there is no need for Western powers to do anything much to facilitate that outcome, recent events in Syria...
TESTIMONY: Washington’s Syria Policy
As the Syrian uprising enters its third year, the terrible cost of the Assad’s regime war against the people of Syria is by now well known. Over 80,000 Syrians are dead, more than 1.5 million...
News Update
FDD's Tony Badran discusses recent attacks on Hezbollah inside Lebanon which may have come from Syrian rebels and Russia's support for Bashar al-Assad.
The Growing Role of Hezbollah in the Syrian Civil War
The joint offensive of Hezbollah and Assad regime forces on the town of al-Qusayr in the Homs countryside in western Syria has been long in the making. Assad's forces, limited in manpower...
Assad: Arab World Ready to Join Fight Against Israel
Syrian President Bashar Assad told Al-Manar TV on Thursday that “there is pressure by the people to open a new front on the Golan.” “Even among the Arab world there is a clear...
Egyptian Jihadists Call for Attacks in Shiite Countries
Twenty Egyptian jihadists have issued a statement calling upon Sunnis to launch attacks in Shiite-led countries in response to the Assad regime's offensive in Qusayr, a city in western Syria...
Hezbollah on the Move
Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces are now leading the ground offensive in Syria on behalf of embattled President Bashar al-Assad, according to regional experts.
Hezbollah Slips in Qusayr
It’s been five days since Hezbollah and Assad regime forces launched their joint offensive on the town of al-Qusayr in the Homs countryside. Hezbollah and regime media...
Collision Course
President Obama is on a collision course with his allies on Syria. As Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, France, and Britain call for more aggressive steps to topple Bashar al-Assad...
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...
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.”
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...
News Update
FDD's Clifford D. May says the Israelis aren't terribly worried of retaliation from Syria, but it is possible.
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.
Happening Now
FDD's Jonathan Schanzer discusses the potential use of chemical weapons in Syria and the need for US action.
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.
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.
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...
