Read the full article on Foreign Policy.
Syrian civil society groups have faced seemingly insurmountable challenges in the five-year war, and can count few friends among the violent actors on the ground. Nevertheless, their work and determination continues unabated, with little external attention, recognition or support. Syrian civil society will have an important role to play in any post-war settlement.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Hassan Mneimneh, Robert S. Ford, and Mabrouka M’Barek provide analysis on recent events including Iraq’s political storm, efforts to salvage the Syrian cease-fire, and the first Tunisia-U.S. Joint Economic Commission meeting starting later this week.
Iraqi PM Needs Support
Hassan Mneimneh, MEI Scholar
Recent additions to America’s fighting contingent in Iraq and Syria show U.S. determination to beat ISIS militarily. President Barack Obama announced Monday that 250 more U.S. special forces will enter Syria to help anti-ISIS fighters, and Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said last week that Apache helicopters and more special operations forces will be sent to Iraq.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Charles Schmitz, and Alex Vatanka provide analysis on recent events including the Syrian cease-fire, Al-Qaeda losses in Yemen, and Iran’s parliamentary elections.
Cease-fire Dead in Syria
Charles Lister, Resident Fellow
This essay depicts the Syrian refugee crisis as a symptom of the disorder which currently exists in the international system, describes the distinctive characteristics of the Syrian exodus, discusses the security implications of the crisis, and proposes four forms of international cooperation to safeguard the welfare of Syria’s refugees and to prevent the emergency from generating further upheaval in the Middle East.
The United States has been pushing Turkey for a campaign to eject ISIS from a 60-mile stretch of border that it still controls between the Syrian towns of Jarabulus and Azaz. However, the joint U.S.-Turkey operation has faced several roadblocks. From the outset, the United States and Turkey have had different goals. Washington wants Ankara to close the border, which is the sole remaining crossing point for ISIS militants.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Randa Slim, Charles Schmitz, and Paul Salem provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the next round of Syrian peace talks, the cease-fire in Yemen and the negotiations ahead, and Saudi King Salman’s visits to Egypt and Turkey.
Round Two of Syrian Peace Talks
Randa Slim, Director of the Initiative for Track II Dialogues
“The ‘Islamic State’ Rocked Crusader Europe Again. Hundreds of Deaths and Injuries as a Result of Martyrdom Operations in Brussels,” read the headline of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) Arabic-language newsletter al-Naba’ on March 21, 2016. There were not much details about the terrorist bombings, but they certainly follow a pattern established since early 2015. “Do not look for specific targets. Kill anybody,” said Boubaker Hakim, an ISIS commander of French-Tunisian origins, in an interview initially published in March 2015 by ISIS’ French-language magazine Dar al-Islam.
Some problems cannot be postponed indefinitely, and Libya is one of them. U.N. mediators, fronting for a hesitant and oft-divided international community, are running out of gimmicks for further talks among the feuding parties in Libya’s dysfunctional political process. Moving swiftly after his arrival in Tripoli last Wednesday, Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj reached out to the Libyan public, key central government institutions, and regional and municipal authorities.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Gonul Tol, Robert S. Ford, Charles Lister, and Paul Salem provide analysis on recent events including Turkish President Erdogan’s visit to Washington, the reshuffling of Iraq’s cabinet, King Salman’s forthcoming visit to Egypt, and the latest attempts by Jabhat al-Nusra over the weekend to disrupt the Syrian political process.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Paul Salem, and Daniel Serwer provide analysis on recent events including the capture of Palmyra by Syrian government forces, preparations for the campaign to retake Mosul, the risk of further terrorist attacks in Europe like last week’s in Brussels. Allen Keiswetter also responds to recent comments by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on U.S. policy toward Saudi Arabia.
This article was originally published on NPR.
The Islamic State has been steadily losing territory in its self-declared caliphate in Syria and Iraq, where a U.S. bombing campaign and a host of rival forces chip away at its holdings.
