In light of recent reports of chemical weapons being used against Syrian civilians, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon highlights frustrations felt by some State Department employees at the lack of response from the White House.

The UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) was passed on March 28, 2013, and seeks to regulate and limit trade in arms in circumstances of human rights violations. Unfortunately, it will have minimal effect on the Syrian conflict. Syria's own vote against the treaty, along with Iran's and North Korea's, sounded the death knell for a universally applicable treaty to limit small arms, ammunition, and conventional weapons technology.

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Obama is right not to rush to war, given our checkered past on the use of chemical weapons and the sinkhole of hatreds in Syria, writes Leslie H. Gelb.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel held a press conference in Abu Dhabi to wrap up his five day trip to Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. He discussed U.S. intelligence on the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

Russia today may have less influence in the Middle East than previously, but it continues to have a stake in the region's stability and sees it as an area in which it has important national interests, often at variance with U.S. goals and objectives.

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Elliott Abrams forecasts "trouble ahead" in Europe, once its passport-holding jihadis return home from fighting in Syria.

The success of a UN investigation into an alleged chemical weapons attack in Aleppo province last week will depend on a number of factors and could prove inconclusive, says CFR's Gregory Koblentz.

Leslie H. Gelb reflects on the tenth anniversary of U.S. involvement in Iraq in the context of the continuing conflict in Syria.

Ed Husain writes that the ongoing Arab revolutions were inspired by "other, more direct developments," not the war in Iraq.

The pitched battle for Syria's future could eventually pull the country apart and precipitate a seismic sectarian shift in the region, says Mideast expert Mona Yacoubian.

Secretary Kerry held this press conference on February 28, 2013, in Rome. He discussed the United States committing $60 million in humanitarian aid to Syria.

A group of foreign ministers met with the leader of the Syrian National Coalition, Sheikh Moaz al Khatib, in Rome for the fourth Friends of the Syria conference on February 28, 2013. They released this final statement announcing "increased political and material support to the Syrian National Coalition."

Leslie H. Gelb writes that the aim now in Syria can't be just to help the rebels and get rid of Assad; it must be to prevent al Qaeda's extremist cohorts from grabbing power.

In recent years, the strategic alliance between Iran and Hezbollah has grown to the point where the Lebanese militant group's fealty to Tehran is paramount, a dynamic currently on display in Syria, says counterterrorism expert Matthew Levitt.

Secretary John Kerry and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gave these remarks before their meeting on February 14, 2013. They outlined the main issues they would discuss: North Korea's nuclear test and Six Party Talks, negotiations with Iran, the crisis in Syria, and France's intervention in Mali.

CFR Senior Fellows Robert M. Danin and Ed Husain lead a conversation on the current situation in Syria and discuss the challenges that lie ahead for the country and the international community.

The Syrian opposition has realized that Assad likely cannot be toppled militarily, but must be pushed out through a negotiated solution, says CFR's Ed Husain.

Joint Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi presented this report at the United Nations Security Council on Janaury 29, 2013, to inform negotiations with Syria.

John B. Bellinger III argues that international law presents many obstacles to a quick U.S. intervention in Syria.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey held this press conference on January 10, 2013. They discussed Afghan President Karzai's visit, defense sequestration, and possible chemical weapons in Syria.