Foreign Policy Blogs

Tag Archives: Bashar al-Assad

Turkey’s Syrian Blowback

Turkey’s Syrian Blowback

The current Turkish struggle with IS is a complete reversal from the early years of the Syrian civil war, when Turkey supported opposition against Assad.

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From Russia With (No) Love: A Hard Heart Works Best For Russia

From Russia With (No) Love: A Hard Heart Works Best For Russia

U.S. relations with Russia can only improve through a more transactional, pragmatic approach based on shared interests, not values.

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Where are the Syrian Christian Refugees?

Where are the Syrian Christian Refugees?

Are Syrian refugees a threat to U.S. national security? In the wake of the San Bernardino shootings, most Americans are on edge and many are reluctant to let in any more Muslims, especially Syrian refugees.

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Russia Asserts Itself in Syria

Russia Asserts Itself in Syria

For minorities in the Middle East, assistance in their fight to survive has come too late on almost every occasion. Russia has decided to fill the gap that the West has left in combating threats in the region.

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Assad and the Struggle For a Political Solution in Syria

Assad and the Struggle For a Political Solution in Syria

The Syrian conflict will end, and it will end in a political solution, but President Bashar al-Assad can’t and won’t be a part of it – not if it has any hope of succeeding.

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The Rise of the Iron Will

The Rise of the Iron Will

On Sunday, for the first time ever, more than 41 million voters in Turkey went to polling stations to elect their president by popular vote. Despite turnout being low, with some suspecting the holiday season might be the reason, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan handily beat both of his rivals with 52 percent of the vote.

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The Arab World and the Security Crisis in Syria and Iraq

The Arab World and the Security Crisis in Syria and Iraq

Karen Elliot House, Bessma Momani, Kamran Bokhari and Ayham Kamel joined Reza Akhlaghi of the Foreign Policy Association to discuss the growing regional instability, Arab policy, and the breakdown of security structure in Iraq and Syria.

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The Next Major Energy Transit Hub: Syria?

The Next Major Energy Transit Hub: Syria?

The world continues to watch as President Obama and his administration increase their lobbying efforts to convince the Congress and the international community to support a U.S. led military strike in Syria. President Obama went on a media blitz Monday and is expected to deliver his case to the nation today to launch a “limited” […]

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The Shadow of Iraq?

The Shadow of Iraq?

  After one week of progressive securitization of the Syrian problem by the US, Britain and France, it appears that the members of the Euro-Atlantic community were getting ready to build a coalition of the willing in order to punish Bashar al-Assad for using chemical weapons against Syrian civilians. The United Nations recently sent UN […]

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Syria: The Growing Proxy War in the Middle East

Syria: The Growing Proxy War in the Middle East

By Tyler Hooper On Thursday, June 13, the White House announced that it will now provide military weapons and supplies to Syrian rebels. The announcement came with claims by the Obama administration that they have found evidence of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime using chemical weapons against rebel forces, which is strictly prohibited by international […]

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Red Lines, Syria, and Rhetoric

Red Lines, Syria, and Rhetoric

“Kennan believed that language helped make policy and that vague, expansive language would lead to vague, expansive policy,” writes author Nicholas Thompson in a 2012 Foreign Affairs article about Cold War strategist George Kennan. As the humanitarian situation in Syria gets even worse, as questions over the use of chemical weapons loom larger, and as the […]

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Unrest in the Middle East: A Conversation With Siddique and Wuite

Unrest in the Middle East: A Conversation With Siddique and Wuite

by Abul-Hasanat Siddique and Casper Wuite Abul-Hasanat Siddique and Casper Wuite, co-authors of The Arab Uprisings: An Introduction, talk about the political unrest in the Middle East, the Syrian Civil War, the globalization of media, and the future prospects for the region. Is the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa homegrown or a Western-sponsored revolution for change? Abul-Hasanat Siddique: Home-grown. […]

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The FPA’s Must Reads (March 1-March 8)

The FPA’s Must Reads (March 1-March 8)

This week: Dennis Rodman hangs out in North Korea, Hugo Chavez dies, America plays out its fiscal drama, and Bashar al-Assad follows in his father’s footsteps.

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The Year of the Dragon

The Year of the Dragon

The year 2012 was for Beijing a year to display its dragon-like qualities of authority, dignity, and honor. The dragon is also the symbol of the emperor, so it may have been auspicious for a new leader to be chosen during November’s meeting of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. While […]

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Yearly Roundup: The Anatomy of the Syrian Conflict (1/2)

Yearly Roundup: The Anatomy of the Syrian Conflict (1/2)

How does one describe the immense changes in the Syrian conflict this year? Well, a group of rag tag defectors and civilians, beaten so badly in 2011, have transformed into a viable insurgency which has effectively freed anywhere from 40 to 75 percent of the country. Secular and Salafist-leaning rebel groups do the bulk of […]

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