Analysis & Commentary
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...
Al Qaeda’s Syrian Affiliate Claims 2 More Suicide Attacks
The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda in Iraq's affiliate in Syria, has claimed credit for two more suicide attacks against Bashar al Assad's military. In a statement released on the Al Nusrah...
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...
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...
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,”...
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...
Laying Groundwork for Life After Syria’s Assad
As the days of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad increasingly look numbered, Jewish and pro-Israel activists are starting to grapple with the question of who will be in power after he’s gone — and whether...
News Update
FDD's Clifford May explains why the casualty count in Syria will very likely worsen.
Assad Is So Out of Vogue
It seems like only yesterday that Bashar al-Assad was being courted by progressive Western politicians even as he conspired with Iranian jihadists and Kremlin strongmen. And it was less than two years...
Syrian VP’s Remarks Suggest Regime in Dire Straits
Syria's Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa is drawing attention for becoming the first senior Syrian official to publicly acknowledge that his government cannot win its battle against a 21-month rebellion.
‘Generous’: Remember John Kerry’s Praise of Syrian Dictator Assad?
With multiple reports circulating that President Barack Obama will nominate Sen. John Kerry to be his next secretary of state, it’s worth remembering the praise the Democratic senator has in the past...
Assad’s Chemical Card
Last week, president Obama issued another warning to Syria’s embattled dictator against making the “tragic mistake” of using chemical weapons (CW). There remain a number of real scenarios in which...
Obama’s Syria Disaster
Watching the nightmare in Syria unfold, you have to ask yourself: Could the Obama administration have made a worse hash out of the situation if it had tried?
Al Nusrah Front, Foreign Jihadists Seize Key Syrian Base in Aleppo
The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, an al Qaeda-linked jihadist group that is fighting Bashir al Assad's regime in Syria, and allied jihadist groups took control of the last major Syrian Army...
News Update
Syria and Assad's chemical weapons.
Ambassador Ford: Hey, Syria’s a Mess
Ambassador Robert Ford, who has served in Syria bravely in the face of physical danger, spoke in Washington, D.C., at a conference held by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Syria’s Assad Regime has Fight Left Despite Rebels’ Advances
While Syrian rebel forces have made significant military advances on the ground against the forces of President Bashar al-Assad in recent days, the U.S. ambassador to Syria says there's no imminent end...
Syrian Rebels Gain, But For How Long?
The resignation of Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi on Monday is just one of a series of recent setbacks for the embattled regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The news follows a week...
UN Envoy Is Seeking a Deal to Oust Assad From Syria
With the support of the United States, the United Nations special envoy on Syria is mounting a diplomatic push for a brokered agreement that would lead to the ouster of the country’s president, Bashar al-Assad...
US Ambassador Warns Syria
If the Syrian government crosses American “red lines” by using chemical weapons against its own people, that will “change our calculations in a fundamental way,” Robert Ford, the U.S. ambassador to Syria...
