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April 14, 2009
| Author: | Mona Yacoubian, Special Adviser, Muslim World Initiative, United States Institute of Peace |
|---|
This module features teaching notes by Mona Yacoubian, coauthor of the Council Special Report Dealing with Damascus, along with other resources to supplement the text. In this report, Mona Yacoubian and Scott Lasensky argue that the U.S. approach of isolating and undermining the Syrian regime has largely failed. The authors suggest that diplomatic engagement with Syria would be a more effective means of accomplishing U.S. goals in the region.
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Academic Modules—featuring teaching notes by the authors of CFR publications—are designed to assist educators in creating or supplementing a course syllabus. The modules are customized packages built around a primary CFR text, such as a book or report, and include teaching notes; additional readings; video, audio, and transcripts of CFR meetings; Foreign Affairs articles; and other online resources. Use of these modules is free of charge. They may be used in part or in their entirety.
June 2008
Council Special Report No. 33
In this Council Special Report, Mona Yacoubian and Scott Lasensky make a strong case that the Bush administration’s policy of diplomatic isolation of Syria is not serving U.S. interests, and offer informed history and thoughtful analysis of the country and its external behavior. This report is also available in Italian.
Updated: February 2008
Syria has a history of aiding terrorist organizations, and is one of five nations on the U.S. State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism. Along with Iran, Syria has given substantial backing to Hezbollah.
Updated: June 7, 2007
Some analysts want U.S. forces to raid suspected terrorist camps in Syria, but legal experts say such raids might not square with international law.
Updated: September 15, 2006
The United States has long tried to compel Syria to adjust its behavior, but rarely with any result. This backgrounder examines the current U.S. policy options toward Syria.
Updated: March 10, 2006
As international attention focuses on the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad, cfr.org profiles some of the nation's top leaders.
December 2008
In Restoring the Balance: A Middle East Strategy for the Next President, experts from the Council on Foreign Relations and the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution propose a new, nonpartisan Middle East strategy drawing on the lessons of past failures to address both the short-term and long-term challenges to U.S. interests.
April 17, 2008
In February, Martin Indyk and Richard Haass engaged leading Gulf policymakers in detailed conversations about what they are looking for from a new American president. While all those with whom they spoke were fascinated by the American presidential primary elections and seem to be following the results closely, few have yet focused on the possibility that a significant change in U.S. foreign policy might result from a new administration in Washington. There was also a significant disconnect between leaders and publics: The leaders are focused on how the next administration will deal with complex regional security challenge posed by Iran, whereas the publics are hoping that a new president will resolve the Palestinian issue and press authoritarian governments to be more open, transparent and accountable.
April 2008
In this penetrating book, Noah Feldman tells the story behind the increasingly popular call for the establishment of the sharia—the law of the traditional Islamic state—in the modern Muslim world.
March/April 2009
Summary
The future of the Arab world will depend on the outcome of a battle between those advocating Islamic theocracy and those seeking to establish liberal democracy.
January/February 2009
Summary
To be successful in the Middle East, the Obama administration will need to move beyond Iraq, find ways to deal constructively with Iran, and forge a final-status Israeli-Palestinian agreement.
April 24, 2008
Statement
March 28, 2008
Report
February 11, 2008
Seymour M. Hersh of the New Yorker asks why Israel bombed in Syria.
May 1, 2007
A Washington Institute Policy Focus in which Syria expert Seth Wikas takes a comprehensive look at the Syrian opposition's past victories and more recent setbacks. He outlines the major regional developments that have allowed the regime to divide and dilute the various factions arrayed against it.
July 1, 2006
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace takes a look at Syria's path of economic and political reform.
March 2006
One year after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and facing mounting international pressure, the Syrian regime is consolidating its hold on power and adopting a more defiant stance, both in the region and toward the West.
March 6, 2009
Elliott Abrams, former chief Middle East adviser on the National Security Council, says the Obama administration's move to send diplomats to Damascus for talks marks "a real policy change" but he is doubtful it will amount to much.
October 30, 2008
Kaveh L. Afrasiabi, a former advisor to Iran's nuclear negotiating team, says the U.S. cross-border incursion from Iraq into Syria has Tehran worried about the implications for its own territory.
June 18, 2008
Middle East expert Mona Yacoubian says diplomatic moves in the Middle East indicate that various parties are becoming "increasingly alarmed" about regional volatility.
May 22, 2008
Joshua Landis, a leading Syria specialist, says a prospective Syrian-Israeli peace agreement is "very feasible," though perhaps not quickly.
December 5, 2007
Joshua Landis, a leading Syria expert, says Syria’s surprise attendance at last week’s Annapolis peace conference came after heavy lobbying.
September 19, 2007
Gary Samore, an arms control official in the Clinton National Security Council and CFR’s director of studies, says it remains a mystery whether Syria was working with North Korea to receive nuclear technology. He adds, however, that it would make sense that Syria would be interested to develop some kind of deterrent, given that its neighbor, Israel, is said to have nuclear weapons.
June 1, 2007
Mona Yacoubian, a former intelligence analyst for the State Department, says the special UN tribunal to investigate the assassination in 2005 of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is linked to the politics of Lebanon and Syria, with the Syrians trying to sow enough chaos to prevent the tribunal from ever getting underway.
May 26, 2006
Mona Yacoubian of the United States Institute for Peace talks to cfr.org's Esther Pan about Syria's recent crackdown on democracy advocates.
Website
Author: Sami Moubayed
A series of summaries of USIP reports and events
Author: Mona Yacoubian
April 2008
Book
Authors: Daniel Kurtzer and Scott Lasensky
November 2005
Book
Author: David W. Lesch
2005
Book
Author: Flynt Leverett
Dealing with Damascus
| Speakers: | Mona Yacoubian, Special Adviser, Muslim World Initiative, Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, United States Institute for Peace; Coauthor, Dealing with Damascus, Council Special Report, June 2008 |
|---|---|
| Irina A. Faskianos, Vice President, National Program & Outreach, Council on Foreign Relations |
Audio: Academic Conference Call: Dealing with Damascus (Audio)
U.S. Relations with the Muslim World
| Speakers: | Madeleine K. Albright, Principal, The Albright Group LLC; Former U.S. Secretary of State |
|---|---|
| Vin Weber, Managing Partner, Clark & Weinstock; Former U.S. Representative (R-MN) | |
| Presider: | Barbara Slavin, Assistant Managing Editor, World and National Security, The Washington Times |
As the next U.S. president prepares to take office, improving relations with Muslim communities remains a major foreign policy challenge and opportunity. A recent report by the Leadership Group on U.S.-Muslim Engagement suggests that a new strategy is necessary to enhance international security and reduce the threats posed by violent extremism. Please join Leadership Group members Madeleine K. Albright and Vin Weber for a discussion of U.S. engagement with the Muslim world.
Transcript: U.S. Relations With The Muslim World
Audio: U.S. Relations With The Muslim World (Audio)
Video: U.S. Relations With The Muslim World (Video)
This meeting is on the record.
The President's Inbox: The Greater Middle East
| Speakers: | Stephen Biddle, Senior Fellow for Defense Policy, Council on Foreign Relations |
|---|---|
| Steven A. Cook, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations | |
| Daniel Markey, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia, Council on Foreign Relations | |
| Presider: | Gary Samore, Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair, Council on Foreign Relations |
Upon President Obama's inauguration, he will find a myriad of foreign policy challenges demanding his attention, particularly in the Middle East. As the new administration begins, please join CFR experts Stephen Biddle, Steven Cook, and Daniel Markey to assess and discuss the most pressing issues in the greater Middle East.
This meeting is on the record.
Restoring the Balance: A Middle East Strategy for the Next President
| Speakers: | Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations |
|---|---|
| Martin S. Indyk, Director, The Saban Center for Middle East Policy, The Brookings Institution | |
| Gary Samore, Vice President and Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair, Council on Foreign Relations |
Transcript: Restoring the Balance: A Middle East Strategy for the Next President
Audio: Restoring the Balance: A Middle East Strategy for the Next President (Audio)
Video: Restoring the Balance: A Middle East Strategy for the Next President (Video)
This meeting is on the record.
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