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Syria

Security Cooperation
commentary
Is Major Realignment Taking Place in the Middle East?
Colin P. Clarke @ColinPClarke, Ariane M. Tabatabai @ArianeTabatabai
Oct 31, 2018
Foreign Affairs
The shifting alignments in the Middle East have intensified since the murder of the Saudi journalist Khashoggi in Istanbul. Turkey has drifted away from NATO and toward Iran and Russia. Like Tehran and Moscow, Ankara is now more anti-Western than at any point in recent memory. What does this mean for the United States?
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Iran
commentary
America's Indefinite Endgame in Syria
Colin P. Clarke @ColinPClarke, Ariane M. Tabatabai @ArianeTabatabai
Oct 16, 2018
The Atlantic
The Trump administration's position on the Syrian civil war has shifted from countering ISIS to containing Iran. America will remain in Syria as long as Iran does. But an unending timetable for the withdrawal of troops is far more problematic for Washington than it is for Tehran.
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Terrorism Financing
commentary
ISIS's New Plans to Get Rich and Wreak Havoc
Colin P. Clarke @ColinPClarke
Oct 10, 2018
Foreign Policy
Although the Islamic State has lost nearly 98 percent of the territory it once controlled, it is ripe for a comeback in Sunni-majority areas of Iraq and Syria. The group has proven that it is capable of making money even without controlling large population centers.
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The Islamic State (Terrorist Organization)
commentary
Why We Should Measure the Economic Impact of Terrorism in the Middle East
Antonia Ward @antoniahward
Sep 24, 2018
Georgetown Security Studies Review
Though physical impacts of terrorism in the Middle East should be the main focus of counterterrorism efforts, financial impacts should not be ignored. Officials could help mitigate devastating economic effects by identifying and protecting essential regional revenue streams like tourism and oil.
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Syria
commentary
The Growing Risk of a New Middle East War
Richard C. Baffa, Nathan Vest
Aug 21, 2018
United Press International
Escalating clashes between Israeli and Iranian forces in Syria have demonstrably increased the risk of a new, large-scale regional conflict that would likely involve the U.S. military. Tehran's continued provocations and violations of Israel's stated red lines are fueling escalation with the potential to rapidly spin out of control.
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Russia
commentary
Russia's Wars and Trump
Colin P. Clarke @ColinPClarke, William Courtney @courtneywmh
Jul 11, 2018
The Hill
At the July 16 summit in Helsinki, President Trump might stress that the West will persist in imposing costs on Russia for current and any future malign interventions. At the same time, he could offer to work with Putin in the search for peace in Syria and Ukraine if Moscow were to decide to withdraw its forces.
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Security Cooperation
commentary
Time to Make a Deal on Syria
Samuel Charap @scharap, Jeffrey Martini
Jul 10, 2018
Foreign Policy
U.S. leverage is much diminished by the Assad regime's recent gains but there are still opportunities for Washington and Russia to achieve a settlement that preserves some U.S. interests. These include maintaining the gains made against the Islamic State and constraining Iranian influence in Syria.
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Syria
commentary
What Does Mission Accomplished in Syria Really Mean?
Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein
Apr 30, 2018
United Press International
The use of chemicals cannot be allowed to become an acceptable form of warfare either in Syria or anywhere else. Mission accomplishment in Syria, just like in chemical weapon nonproliferation, will require far more than missile strikes alone.
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Peacekeeping and Stability Operations
commentary
Stabilization Is Essential to Accomplishing the Mission
Linda Robinson @RobinsonL100
Apr 24, 2018
The RAND Blog
There's good reason to hope that the forthcoming policy on stabilization in places like Iraq will get the United States to the right middle road. But this new effort will fall short if Congress doesn't maintain the necessary funding for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
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Refugees
commentary
Europe's Great Challenge: Integrating Syrian Refugees
Ernesto F. L. Amaral, Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik, Gabriela Armenta
Apr 20, 2018
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Since March, 2011, close to 1 million Syrian refugees have requested asylum in European countries, with Germany being the primary destination. Social and economic policies to deal with the refugee crisis will require collaborative planning, monitoring, and assessment efforts to be successful.
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Chemical Terrorism
commentary
Arms Control Hostage to Skripal and Syria Attacks
William Courtney @courtneywmh
Apr 19, 2018
RealClearDefense
Two prominent poisoning assassination attempts and Kremlin denials of gas attacks by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad raise doubts about Moscow's commitment to the purposes of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Never has the future of negotiated arms control involving Russia been at greater risk.
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Chemical Weapons and Warfare
commentary
A Norm in Crisis: Implications of Persistent Chemical Weapons Use
Natasha Lander
Apr 18, 2018
RealClearDefense
The international community should consider serious options to hold perpetrators of chemical attacks accountable and stop further attacks. These are not easy choices. But the alternative is accepting that long-held norms are crumbling, and the world is sliding back to a time when inhumane tools of war were common.
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Turkey
commentary
Turkey's Double Standard: How Ankara's Actions Contradict Its Claims of Opposing the Islamic State
Ahmet S. Yayla, Colin P. Clarke @ColinPClarke
Apr 13, 2018
Foreign Policy
Turkey wants to take credit for the demise of the Islamic State, insisting that Turkey's actions in northern Syria have helped lay the groundwork for a sustainable peace. But the evidence clearly suggests otherwise.
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Syria
commentary
Conditioning American Withdrawal from Syria
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins, Jeffrey Martini
Apr 9, 2018
Al-Monitor
U.S. forces will soon withdraw from Syria, and the U.S. State Department put a hold on further stabilization assistance to areas liberated from the Islamic State. The U.S. and its partners should offer stabilization and reconstruction help, particularly in regions where much of the damage was the result of American-supported military operations.
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Turkey
commentary
What's Turkey Trying to Achieve in Syria?
Ahmet S. Yayla, Colin P. Clarke @ColinPClarke
Apr 2, 2018
The National Interest
Turkish President Erdoğan is attempting to cement his political legitimacy among Syrian Sunnis by portraying himself as their savior. If the United States withdraws from Syria after the mission to defeat ISIS is complete, it will essentially be ceding the advantage to Erdoğan, who can continue pushing his agenda.
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Domestic Violence
commentary
Tackling Gender-Based Violence Among Syrian Refugees in Lebanon
Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Mar 22, 2018
The RAND Blog
Increased poverty and major shifts in traditional gender roles for Syrian refugees have worsened interpersonal tensions, increased the risk of domestic violence, and caused challenges for aid workers.
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