Robert Danin, Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies and Edward Husain, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, discuss the crisis in Syria, the threat of jihad, and the international community's response to the situation with CFR.org's Toni Johnson.
Al-Qaeda may become the Free Syrian Army's most potent weapon against the Assad regime, but its collaboration with rebel forces poses serious risks for the country's future, says CFR's Ed Husain.
Leslie H. Gelb says Kofi Annan's mission in Damascus was doomed from the start. Obama should not try to fill the void—but rather leave that mostly to Syria's neighbors.
In his latest exclusive dispatch from Deir el-Zour province, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad meets fighters who have left the Free Syrian Army for the discipline and ideology of global jihad.
A post-Assad Syria will likely create distinct challenges for each of its neighbors, including creating a major loss for Iran, says Michael Young of Lebanon's Daily Star.
Following a UN Security Council veto, the United States should bypass the UN to pressure the Assad regime and support the Syrian opposition, writes CFR President Richard N. Haass.
Intensification of the violence in Syria presents renewed cause for military intervention, either to protect innocent civilian lives or to potentially police or enforce a peace agreement or political settlement, says CFR's Paul Stares.
Russian President Putin, mistrustful of Western motives, is likely to resist pressure to commit to stronger sanctions against Syria's government, says expert Dimitri Simes.
Richard N. Haass says, "Intervention in Syria need not be defined as either armed intervention or intervention with arms. There is much more that the world can and should be doing to bring about the removal of the Assad regime."
The West may no longer be the main target for terrorist organizations; turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa has given rise to an increased number of more locally-focused attacks in the last year.
UN Security Council Resolution 2052 regarding extension of the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) monitoring the Israel-Syria ceasefire until December 31, 2012 was adopted by the UN Security Council on June 27, 2012.
He was an unpromising youth who gained power by accident. Today he's the Arab world's most notorious dictator. But who really is this man? The Financial Times' Roula Khalaf profiles Bashar al-Assad.
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
Special operations play a critical role in how the United States confronts irregular threats, but to have long-term strategic impact, the author argues, numerous shortfalls must be addressed.
The author analyzes the potentially serious consequences, both at home and abroad, of a lightly overseen drone program and makes recommendations for improving its governance.
Two experts argue that despite myriad development strategies, only one can succeed in alleviating poverty in India: the overall growth of the country's economy. More