Syria’s U.S. ambassador says Damascus can play a "constructive role" in resolving the current fighting in Lebanon but is getting the diplomatic cold shoulder from the Bush administration.

As Israel draws most of the world's criticism for the scope of its actions in Lebanon, the country says it will consider an international stabilization force on the border.

As Israeli air strikes decimate Lebanon, the elected government in Beirut is weak, divided, and seems powerless to control Hezbollah, whose attack on an Israeli convoy July 12 started the conflict.

The relationship between Syria and Iran is receiving new scrutiny as an Israeli offensive against Lebanon—sparked by an attack on Israeli soldiers by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is supported by both Damascus and Tehran—grinds on.

David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy talks to CFR.org's Esther Pan about the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah.

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace takes a look at Syria's path of economic and political reform.

The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is carrying out the worst crackdown on political dissidents since 2000, when Assad came to power. Some experts see the move as a sign of the regime's confidence as international pressure over the assassination of Rafik Hariri fades.

Scott Lasensky, who specializes in Syria and other Middle Eastern areas for the U.S. Institute of Peace, says Syria has mounted a major crackdown to try to silence the growing number of intellectuals and activists calling for change.

Mona Yacoubian of the United States Institute for Peace talks to cfr.org's Esther Pan about Syria's recent crackdown on democracy advocates.

Protests this week highlight Syria's continuing influence in Beirut, more than a year after the "Cedar Revolution." But experts say Lebanon's outdated political system is just as much to blame for lingering instability.

Karim Makdisi of the American University of Beirut says Lebanon's leaders are a closed elite trying to hold onto power for themselves and are powerless to reform the country's political situation.

Bashar al-Assad, whose regime looked shaky under international pressure last year, is consolidating his power and cracking down on dissent. Despite a UN probe linking Syrian officials to the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister, Assad appears to have gained some breathing room.

Last year, the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad looked ready to topple after it was linked to the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. But as international attention shifts to crises in Iran and Iraq, Assad seems to have dodged a bullet.

Joshua M. Landis, a Syria expert who recently returned to the United States from Damascus, says that Syrian leaders are seeking to establish good relations with Iraq. He says the new prime minister of Iraq, Jawad al-Maliki, lived in exile in Syria for twenty-one years, but the current Syrian leadership, which had little direct contact with him, is trying hard to curry favor now.

Syria has agreed to cooperate with the UN investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri one year ago. Questions over Syria's sincerity remain, as international pressure on Damascus wanes and Lebanon struggles with internal tensions not seen since its civil war.