A deadline for cease-fire in Syria is set, but the international community remains divided on ways forward. CFR's Ed Husain says many questions remain about opposition unity, leadership transition, and whether it will be possible to keep the peace.

The Arab League summit in Baghdad is focused on Syria, but events on the ground appear to have already outpaced the regional group, says CFR's Mohamad Bazzi.

The government of the brittle, one-party state remains dug in against a determined but fractured opposition. Expert Joshua Landis discusses the fault lines in the Syria uprising.

As the United Nations faces increasing pressure to end violence in Syria and resolve tensions with Iran over its nuclear program, former senior U.S. official William H. Luers discusses challenges in UN diplomacy and prospects for intervention.

A UN Security Council resolution calling for Syria's President Assad to step down faces stiff Russian opposition. Expert Andrew Tabler examines Russia's motives, Syria's internal fissures, and the prospects for ongoing violence.

Syria's regime appears increasingly isolated and erratic in response to civil unrest, posing a challenge to the Arab League to prevent a spread of conflict, says CFR's Robert M. Danin.

The increasing resort to violence signals the likely fall of Syria's Bashar al-Assad and could trigger shifts in the regional balance of power away from Iran, says former senior U.S. Mideast adviser Dennis Ross.

Syria is faced with an increasing number of international sanctions for its bloody crackdown against protesters. CFR's Mohamad Bazzi says the crises facing the regime are unprecedented, but the regime doesn't appear to be giving in.

The Syrian regime's brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters didn't trip the same alarm bells as Libya's did for the UN Security Council, but the international community is gradually losing patience with Assad, says expert Edward Luck, a special advisor to the UN secretary-general.

A new regime in Damascus could threaten Iran's support of Hezbollah and deprive Tehran of its one ally in the region, so it's counseling the Assad government to hang tough, says Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour.

With Bashar al-Assad's government thumbing its nose at global anger as it continues a violent crackdown on protesters, the international community should step up pressure and invoke tough sanctions against Syria's oil exports, says expert Andrew Tabler.

A potential civil war in Syria, a broken state in Libya, and Egypt's transition of power loom as chief Mideast challenges for Washington. CFR's Robert Danin reviews the path for U.S. planners.

Syria's Assad dynasty appears to be on a long path to collapse, posing new challenges to the Obama administration's efforts to break the axis of Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah, says expert Andrew Tabler.

President Assad's brutal attack on Syrian protestors, and a lack of support for protestors from Syria's army and business class, make it likely that the regime will survive even if it becomes increasingly isolated from the West, says Syria expert Mona Yacoubian.

Syria's unrest isn't widespread enough to lead to a government ouster, with the Assad regime enjoying solid support from the country's Alawite leadership and Sunni majority, says expert Joshua Landis.

CFR's Mohamad Bazzi says Syria continues to "meddle" in the business of many states in the Mideast but could be a useful partner for the United States in the region.

Syria expert Joshua Landis says both the Syrian government and the Obama administration are looking to improve relations, but the renewal of sanctions by the United States, designating the country as a rogue state, may prove an obstacle.

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.

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.