Syria’s civil war poses an expanding threat to the region and beyond. Washington should seize the opportunity that still exists to weaken the Assad regime, writes CFR’s Elliott Abrams.

Syria’s Ba’athist regime has responded to widening pro-reform protests by tightening its crackdown, but this approach is unlikely to quiet restive Syrians like it has in the past, writes CFR’s Mohama…

U.S. strategic interests in Africa’s Sahel have been marginal for decades, but there is a strong case for expanding ties with regional allies to quell a spreading security threat, write J. Peter Pham…

A state of emergency in Nigeria’s northeast signals that Islamist violence and the government’s brutal response have rendered the region ungovernable, says CFR’s John Campbell.

At its Warsaw summit, NATO should try to find better solutions to the problem of burden-sharing and a more sustainable strategy for managing tensions with Russia, writes CFR’s Stephen Sestanovich.