US President Donald Trump recently proposed that Syria intervene militarily against Hizballah in Lebanon. Is that a good idea? This episode of Middle East Focus features a recent MEI Virtual Briefing. Director of Communications Zeina Al-Shaib is joined by Ambassador David Hale, MEI Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow and Charles Lister, MEI Senior Fellow. Together they examine the prospects and implications of renewed Syrian involvement in Lebanon, the potential impact on US relations with both countries, and how evolving dynamics in Lebanon and Syria could reshape the regional balance of power and affect countries such as Turkey and Israel.
ISIS appears to have collapsed in Syria in the wake of the SDF’s military defeat and subsequent integration, followed by the withdrawal of US troops. To the extent that the US prioritizes the group’s enduring defeat in the country, a relationship centered in Damascus is the best way to achieve it.
MEI’s Syria Initiative seeks to provide insightful and grounded research and analysis on all things Syria in order to better inform a wide range of audiences and to help sustain and shape a more meaningful policy-oriented discussion.
The Middle East Institute, The Atlantic Council, and European Institute of Peace collaborate with subject matter experts and policymakers in the US, Europe, and the Middle East to develop a holistic strategy to sustainably forge a pathway to resolving Syria’s crisis.
Observers of political affairs in the Arab world are keeping a close eye on the upcoming Arab League summit, set to be held at the end of March in Tunis. Although Syria will not participate in the meeting, the question of when, or how, to bring Damascus in from the cold after an eight-year suspension from the body will be the most important issue on the agenda.
Monday Briefing: Egypt hosts first EU-Arab League summit
In this week’s Monday Briefing, contributors Mirette F. Mabrouk, Gerald Feierstein, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Przemysław Osiewicz, Grace Wermenbol, and W. Robert Pearson provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the EU-Arab League summit, the progress in US-Taliban talks, challenges to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s power, consequences of the Kashmir attack, and Turkey’s next steps in Syria.
As the Sochi talks made clear, for all their efforts, Russia and Turkey remain far from a joint resolution on Manbij. But the two sides do not have equal clout on the issue. Russia’s significant and expanding military police presence in the Manbij countryside gives Moscow the final say on what will happen there, a reality that could result in Ankara losing some or all of the region to its Syrian rivals in Damascus.
Weekly Briefing: MBS South Asia swing aims to shore up relations
In this week’s briefing, MEI experts Gerald Feierstein, Charles Lister, Marvin G. Weinbaum, and W. Robert Pearson provide analysis on Saudi-Pakistan relations, Turkish politics in the lead-up to March municipal elections, and the question of what to do with ISIS prisoners after the group’s territorial collapse.
Why Assad’s alliance with Iran and Hezbollah will endure
This article was published by IranSource on February 6, 2019.
The Tehran-Damascus-Hezbollah trilateral partnership has been decades in the making. It pre-dates the Syrian civil war, has strengthened as a result of the war and will likely endure in the post-war years.
Renouncing al-Qaeda and the prospects for engagement
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) recent seizure of the northern Syrian province of Idlib once again brings to the fore the debate over HTS’ renunciation of al-Qaeda (AQ). But can a group renounce AQ? If so, how should Western countries react, if at all?
MEI’s Robert Ford and Charles Lister join host Alistair Taylor to discuss the announced US withdrawal from Syria, the rush to fill the power vacuum that has ensued in its wake, and what the policy means for Syrians and the fight against ISIS.
The Global and Regional Geopolitics of Civil War in the Middle East
Power dynamics between the major global and regional powers have indirectly influenced the civil wars currently plaguing the Middle East. The distribution of power caused by end of the Cold War facilitated the creation of two opposing camps that later competed for regional primacy in the civil wars of Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
There is no doubt that minors are fighting in the ranks of the YPG, a Syrian Kurdish militia that controls most of the country’s northeast, but just how widespread is this phenomenon?
President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would withdraw U.S. troops from Syria came as a surprise to all parties involved, sparking particular concern among America’s Syrian Kurdish allies. This sudden and unexpected decision has been widely criticized not only by allies but also those inside the White House, with many analysts arguing that the U.S. withdrawal will expose the Syrian Kurds to an attack by Turkey. This move may push the YPG to seek the protection of Moscow following the US’s withdrawal in order to secure stability and dialogue with the government in Damascus.
Monday Briefing: US-Taliban talks progress, but major obstacles remain
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Ahmad Majidyar, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Randa Slim, Paul Salem, and Guney Yildiz provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including U.S. negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan, a warning sent to Israel by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the Sudanese president’s appeal for external support, Turkish-Syrian diplomacy, and Pakistan’s acceptance of Gulf aid.
Zmkin Ali and Mac Skelton of the Institute of Regional and International Studies (IRIS) at the American University of Iraq Sulaimani, join host Alistair Taylor for a discussion on Iraq’s political climate, Baghdad’s relations with Erbil in the aftermath of the 2017 referendum, and other regional dynamics.
Feud between Turks and Kurds only adds to Syrian quagmire
This article was published by The Hill on January 23, 2019.
Once again, Turks and Kurds are squaring off to fight. Turks and Kurds have clashed with one another for nearly 1,000 years. The Kurds were in the Middle East first, with roots stretching back millennia. The Turks arrived in historical times and absorbed most Kurds into the Ottoman Empire.
The fight over the spoils of war in Deir ez-Zor heats up
In recent months fighting has repeatedly broken out between Syrian and Iranian-backed militias around Deir ez-Zor, initially over control of taxes and smuggling routes, but increasingly the conflict has taken on a strategic dimension as well.
Weekly Briefing: Pompeo’s visit raises more questions than it answers
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Gerald Feierstein, Paul Salem, Alex Vatanka, W. Robert Pearson, and Mirette F. Mabrouk provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent visit to the Middle East, recent protests in Sudan, Iranian outreach to Baghdad, President Trump’s discussion with President Erdogan on treatment of the Kurds, and the first meeting of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum.
MEI’s Syria Initiative seeks to provide insightful and grounded research and analysis on all things Syria in order to better inform a wide range of audiences and to help sustain and shape a more meaningful policy-oriented discussion. Drawing on the expertise of over a dozen renowned scholars, the Syria Program covers all aspects of Syria and its ongoing crises – from political, economic, legal, social, ethnic and religious dynamics, to conflict, insurgency and terrorism and the country’s history and possible futures.
