Syria Then and Now
iF: What was your experience with Syria when you were House Speaker? Were you supportive of Clinton administration policy? Could it have gone further...
Syria’s Strategy in Lebanon
Since the advent of Hafez al-Assad's dictatorship in Damascus in 1971, Syria's role in the region, and particularly in Lebanon, has been described in...
From Hama to Hamas: Syria’s Islamist Policies
Understanding the logic of Syria's policies can be a daunting task. Syria, under the Assad regime, has fostered a strategy that includes persecution of...
Syria and the Shebaa Farms Dispute
The Syrian-Israeli 1967 ceasefire line has been, with few exceptions, quiet since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. While Damascus bitterly repudiates Israel's conquest of...
Syria and the Palestinian Refugee Problem
After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war leading to Israel's independence, approximately 750,000 Palestinians were dispersed. Roughly 80,000 fled to Syria. Since then, Syria has exploited...
The Syria-Soviet Alliance
Optimism is growing inside the beltway that Syria can partner with the United States to achieve regional peace in the Middle East. The 2006...
Damascus and Lebanon’s ‘Party of God’
Hezbollah ("Party of God" in Arabic) is the most powerful faction in Lebanon. Armed with sophisticated weapons and dedicated forces, Hezbollah poses a threat...
Bashar’s Syria and Prospects for Change
The year 2009 begins with great expectations of change in the United States. President Barack Obama declared during his election campaign that a policy...