We at War on the Rocks have curated this list of articles and podcasts to help you gain a deeper understanding of the history, drivers, background, and events of the Syrian civil war. Whether you are a soldier or a student, a policymaker or a pundit, a teacher or a techie, this will be useful for you.
Many of War on the Rocks’ earliest articles, going back to 2013, concern the grave humanitarian and military situation facing Syria. These resources are organized by focus: the military situation and strategy, Turkey and Syria, the Islamic State and Jihadism, the humanitarian situation and chemical weapons, sanctions, the Assad regime, the United States and Syria, Russia and Syria, and politics and diplomacy.
This list will be updated regularly.
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The Military Situation and Strategy
**Podcast: “Israel Responds to the Fall of al-Assad,” with Michael Koplow and Kerry Anderson.
**Podcast: “Rebels Gain Ground in Syria,” with Aron Lund (12/2024)
**Podcast: “The Fall of Aleppo,” with Hassan Hassan (12/2024)
**Podcast: “Israel Steps Up Strikes in Syria,” with Natasha Hall (09/2024)
**Podcast: “Iranian Embassy in Damascus Hit by Airstrike” with Alex Vatanka and Erin O’Brien (04/2024)
**Podcast: “Clashes in Eastern Syria,” with Amberin Zaman (09/2023)
“The Changing Face of Russian Counter-Irregular Warfare,” by Benjamin Arbitter and Kurt Carlson (12/2021)
**Podcast: “There’s Still a War Going on in Syria,” with Elizabeth Tsurkov (10/2021)
“The Militant Drone Playbook,” by Austin C. Doctor and James Igoe Walsh (08/2021)
“Syria, Airpower, and the Future of Great-Power War,” by Aaron Stein and Ryan Fishel (08/2021)
“Russian AI-Enabled Combat: Coming to a City Near You?,” by Margarita Konaev and Samuel Bendett (07/2019)
“The Urgency of Idlib: The Impending Regime Offensive and the Delicate Balance in Syria’s Northwest,” by Charles Lister (08/2018)
“As Assad Closes In, a Birthplace of Syria’s Uprising Gains New Importance,” by Rodger Shanahan (07/2018)
“What Does Assad’s Southwestern Offensive Mean for the Future of Syria?,” by Michael P. Dempsey (07/2018)
“As Assad Turns to Syria’s Southwest, Washington Faces a Choice,” by Sam Heller (06/2018)
“Israel’s Deepening Involvement with Syria’s Rebels,” by Elizabeth Tsurkov (02/2018)
“Mission Accomplished? What’s Next for Iran’s Afghan Fighters in Syria,” by Ahmad Shuja Jamal (02/2018)
“Self-Defense and Strategic Direction in the Skies Over Syria,” by Ryan Fishel and Aaron Stein (09/2017)
“The Signal in Syria’s Noise,” by Sam Heller (06/2017)
“The Trouble with Tanf: Tactics Driving Strategy in Syria,” by Aaron Stein (06/2017)
“The Al-Shayrat Strikes and Escalation Control in Syria,” by Noel Anderson (04/2017)
“Syria: A Journey into the Unknown,” by Michael Hanna and Sam Heller (04/2017)
“The Stage is Set for an Escalation: The Meaning of Syria’s Attack on Turkish Forces,” by Can Kasapoglu (11/2016)
“Political Airpower, Part I: Say No to the No-Fly Zone,” by Mike Benitez and Mike Pietrucha (10/2016)
“Decisive Military Defections in Syria: A Case of Wishful Thinking,” by Rashad al Kattan (09/2016)
“Revisiting Train-and-Equip in Syria to Clear the Manbij Pocket,” by Andrea Taylor and Aaron Stein (05/2016)
“Levantine Labyrinth: Preparing for Subterranean Warfare in Iraq and Syria,” by Walter Haydock (05/2016)
“How to Lose a Civil War: Lessons for Afghanistan and Syria,” by James T. Quinlivan (09/2015)
Why the New Syrian Army Failed: Washington and Unconventional Warfare by David Maxwell (08/2015)
“Sen. Corker: Monday Morning Quarterbacking Syria,” by Timothy Hoyt (12/2014)
“Training the Syrian Opposition: So, What’s The Plan?,” by Melissa Dalton (09/2014)
“6 Strategies for Syria and Iraq,” by Timothy Hoyt (07/2014)
“What We Know about Aleppo – and What We Wish We Knew,” by Nathaniel Rosenblatt (03/2014)
“Intervention in Syria and the Myth of the “Exit Strategy,” by Thomas M. Nichols (03/2014)
“A Reasonable Hope? Just Intervention in Syria Requires More than Good Intentions,” by Peter Munson (02/2014)
“The Syrian Civil War: Political and Military State of Play,” by Charles Lister and William McCants (02/2014)
“Inside Baseball on Syrian Rebel Infighting,” by Aaron Y. Zelin (02/2014)
“Can You Spare a Drone? (Drones Downtown in Damascus???),” by Frank Hoffman (09/2013)
“Our Options in Syria: the Trouble with No-Fly Zones,” by John T. Kuehn (08/2013)
Turkey and Syria
Podcast: “How Syria Broke Turkey,” with Nate Schenkkan and Nick Danforth (09/2024)
“How Syria Broke Turkey,” by Nate Schenkkan (09/2024)
“A New Path For Syria’s Kurds,” by Asli Aydintasbas and Julien Barnes-Dacey (01/2023)
“Turkey’s Russian Red Light in Syria,” by Sam Heller (12/2022)
“Turkey’s Zero Sum Foreign Policy,” by Aaron Stein (12/2022)
“What Would a Post-Erdoğan Turkish Foreign Policy Look Like?,” by M. Hasim Tekines (12/2021)
“Making Sense of SADAT, Turkey’s Private Military Company,” by Matt Powers (10/2021)
“The American Deconfliction Disadvantage: Ankara’s Drone Campaign in Syria and Iraq,” by Aaron Stein (10/2021)
“Say Hello to Turkey’s Little Friend: How Drones Help Level the Playing Field,” by Aaron Stein (06/2021)
“The Crisis is Coming: Syria and the End of the U.S.-Turkish Alliance,” by Aaron Stein (08/2019)
“The Roadmap to Nowhere: Manbij, Turkey, and America’s Dilemma in Syria,” by Aaron Stein (06/2018)
“What’s the Matter in Manbij? How an Obscure Syrian Town Could Determine the Future of the U.S.-Turkish Alliance and What to Do About It,” by Aaron Stein (05/2018)
“Turkey’s Bluster on Afrin: More Than Meets the Eye,” by Aaron Stein (01/2018)
“Old Dogs, New Tricks: Urban Warfare in Turkey’s War with the PKK,” by Margarita Konaev and Burak Kadercan (01/2018)
“Ankara’s Look East: How Turkey’s Warming Ties with Russia Threaten Its Place in the Transatlantic Community,” by Aaron Stein (12/2017)
“Why is Turkey Silent on Russia’s Cooperation with the Syrian Kurds?,” by Gönül Tol (12/2017)
“Turkey’s Idlib Incursion and the HTS Question: Understanding the Long Game in Syria,” by Charles Lister (10/2017)
“Making Sense of Turkey’s Syria Strategy: A ‘Turkish Tragedy’ In the Making,” by Burak Kadercan (08/2017)
“In Syria, Turkey Finds Itself Boxed In: What’s Next?,” by Aaron Stein and Rao Komar (02/2017)
“Turkey is Tangled up in Terrorism,” by Aaron Stein (01/2017)
“Turkey’s Syria Intervention: No Guarantee of Easy Victory at al-Bab,” by Rao Komar (10/2016)
“Turkey’s Kurdish Red Line in Syria and the Fight Against ISIL,” by Denise Natali (09/2016)
“This is How Turkey’s Incursion into Syria Could Get Bogged Down,” by Aaron Stein (09/2016)
“Fear and Loathing in the Levant: Turkey Changes its Syria Policy and Strategy,” by Aaron Stein (06/2016)
“The Syrian Civil War and the End of Turkey’s Liberal Dream,” by Selim Koru (04/2016)
“Prospects for a Turkish Incursion into Syria,” by Can Kasapoglu (02/2016)
“A Cause For All Turks: Turkey and Syria’s Turkmen Rebels,” by Sam Heller and S.G. Grimaldi (01/2016)
“Post-Election Turkey and the U.S. Plan to Take Raqqa,” by Aaron Stein (11/2015)
“Turkey’s Syria Strategy: All About Domestic Politics?,” by Mustafa Gurbuz (08/2015)
“The Trouble with Turkey’s Favorite Syrian Islamists,” by Sam Heller and Aron Stein (08/2015)
“Are Turkey and Saudi Arabia Going to War in Syria?,” by Aaron Stein (04/2015)
“A Collapsing Regional Order: Turkey’s Troubles in Iraq and Syria,” by Aaron Stein (03/2015)
“The Origins of Turkey’s Buffer Zone in Syria,” by Aaron Stein (12/2014)
“The Tomb that Could Drag Turkey into the Syrian Civil War,” by Chase Winter (10/2014)
“President Erdogan to the Rescue?,” By Joshua Walker (08/2014)
The Islamic State and Jihadism
**”In Brief: What’s Next for ISIL in Syria?” with Karen M. Sudkamp, Aaron Zelin, Jeremy Hodge, and Wyatt Thielen (12/2024)
“The Islamic State Keeps Finding Opportunities,” by Jeremy Hodge (07/2024)
“A Globally Integrated Islamic State,” by Aaron Y. Zelin (07/2024)
“Jihadi Blowback: The Wagner Group’s Hidden Downside,” by Raphael Parens (06/2023)
“The Islamic State is Cautiously Optimistic about a New Turkish Operation in Syria,” by Charlie Winter (12/2022)
“After the Islamic State: Social Media and Armed Groups,” by Laura Courchesne and Brian McQuinn (04/2021)
“Learning from the War on Terror,” by Karen M. Sudkamp (03/2021)
“The Failure of Jihadi Conflict Resolution,” by Tore Hamming (02/2021)
“Leak Reveals Jihadists’ Weakening Grip in Syria’s Idlib,” by Sam Heller (04/2020)
“Has Turkey’s Incursion into Syria Opened the Door for an Islamic State Comeback?” Dareen Khalifa and Elizabeth Tsurkov (02/2020)
“A Glimpse into the Islamic State’s External Operations, Post-Caliphate,” by Sam Heller (05/2019)
“The Emigrant Sisters Return: The Growing Role of the Islamic State’s Women,” by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Vivian Hagerty, and Logan Macnair (04/2018)
“10 Takeaways From the Fight Against the Islamic State,” by Michael P. Dempsey (03/2018)
“A Deadly Delusion: Were Syria’s Rebels Ever Going to Defeat the Jihadists?,” by Sam Heller (08/2017)
“The Post-Caliphate Gauntlet in Eastern Syria,” by Noah Bonsey (07/2017)
“Beyond Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State’s HR Files Illuminate Dangerous Trends,” by Clint Watts (06/2016)
“Is the Islamic State Trying to Draw Turkey into Syria?,” by S.G. Grimaldi and Selim Koru (05 /2016)
“How Al Qaeda Is Winning in Syria,” by Yasir Abbas (05/2016)
“The Tangled Web of the Syrian Jihad,” by Sam Heller (04/2016)
“Taking the Fight to “ISILstan”: Displacing and Replacing ISIL in Eastern Syria and Western Iraq,” by Ilan Goldenberg, Nicholas A. Heras, and Paul Scharre (04/2016)
“This is Your Jihad on Drugs,” by Paul Kan (03/2016)
“A Strategic Framework for the Fight Against ISIL,” by Ilan Goldenberg, Nicholas A. Heras, and Paul Scharre (12/2015)
“The Case for a “Raqqa First,” Strategy Against the Islamic State,” by Don Trombly and Yasir Abbas (09/2015)
“Like It or Not, a Solution in Syria Is the Only Way to Defeat ISIL,” by Omar Al-Nidawi and Adam Tiffen (07/2015)
Podcast: “The Islamic State’s War in Iraq and Syria” with JM Berger, William McCants, Denise Natali, and Douglas A. Ollivant (04/2015)
“Why Cults Work: The Power Games of the Islamic State and the Lord’s Resistance Army,” by Eleanor Beevor (03/2015)
“How Many Fighters Does the Islamic State Really Have?,” by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross (02/2015)
“McCants at Brookings: ISIS Fantasies of an Apocalyptic Showdown in Northern Syria,” by William McCants (10/2014)
“Iraq, Syria, and the Islamic State: A Matter of Control,” by Adam Elkus and Nick Prime (10/2014)
“To Defeat ISIL, Empower Sunni Iraqis and Syrians,” by Paul Scharre (09/2014)
“Warfare in the Early Caliphate: Revisiting A.I. Akram’s “The Sword of Allah,” by Dhruva Jaishankar (09/2014)
“The Dangerous Nexus Between Radicalism in Britain and Syria’s Foreign Fighters,” by Roger Farhat (08/2014)
“Infographic: Visualizing ISIS Violence in Iraq and Syria,” by William Kammerer and Corina Simonelli (07/2014)
“From Magdeburg to Mosul: Iraq, Syria, and the 30 Years War,” by Marc Tyrrell (07/2014)
“Mehdi Nemmouche and Syria: Europe’s Foreign Fighter Problem,” by Raffaello Pantucci (06/2014)
“(W)Archives: An Al Qaeda Strategist’s Lessons for the U.S. in Syria,” by Brian Fishman (05/2014)
“State of Jihad: The Reality of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria,” by Douglas A. Ollivant and Brian Fishman (05/2014)
Podcast: “Counter-Terrorism, Drones, Syria, & More,” with William McCants, JM Berger, and Clint Watts (12/2013)
“ISIS’ Plan to Govern Syria – And What the US Should Do About It,” by Nathaniel Rosenblatt (10/2013)
The Humanitarian Situation and Chemical Warfare
Podcast: “A Catastrophic Earthquake in Syria,” with Natasha Hall (02/2023)
“A Weapons of Mass Destruction Strategy for the 21st Century,” by Al Mauroni, Zachary Kallenborn, Seth Carus, and Ron Fizer (09/2021)
“Chemical Weapons and the Hierarchy of Victims,” by Doreen Horschig and Güneş Murat Tezcür (02/2021)
“In Syria, Put Humanitarian Aid Ahead of a Political Solution,” by Daphne McCurdy and Charles Thépaut (12/2020)
“When Women Commit War Crimes,” by Jessica Trisko Darden and Izabela Steflja (10/2020)
“In Defense of ‘WMD’: A War of Words and the Challenge of Swarms,” by Zachary Kallenborn (07/2020)
“Will Displaced Syrians Ever Return? History Says No.,” by Kara Ross Camarena and Nils Hägerdal (10/2019)
“The Blame Game: Building Justice for Chemical Weapons Use,” by Rebecca Hersman and Sarah Minot (08/2018)
“Confrontation at the OPCW: How Will the International Community Handle Syria and Skripal?,” by John Hart (06/2018)
“The Military Logic Behind Assad’s Use of Chemical Weapons,” by Luke O’Brien and Aaron Stein (06/2018)
Podcast: “Strikes on Syria: The View From Paris,” with Usha Sahay and Bruno Tetrais (04/2018)
“#NoImpunity: Will the Newest International Effort to Stop Chemical Attacks in Syria Succeed?,” by Gregory D. Koblentz (03/2018)
“What an Unfolding Humanitarian Disaster in a U.S.-Protected Enclave Tells Us About American Strategy in Syria,” by Sam Heller (11/2017)
“For Raqqa to Heal, Prioritize Demining,” by Kimberly Metcalf (11/2017)
“Long Ignored: The Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons Against Insurgents,” by Glenn Cross (08/2017)
“How to Get Away with Mass Murder: Denying Mass Atrocities in Sri Lanka and Syria,” by Kate Cronin-Furman (05/2017)
“Science and Clarity in the Chemical Fog of War,” by Robert Fares and Adam Rosenblatt (05/2017)
“Echoes of the Past: Syria, Chemical Weapons, and Civilian Targeting,” by Luke O’Brien (05/2017)
“Never Again,” and the “Lessons,” of History by Michael Neiberg (02/2017)
“Syria Hasn’t Degraded Deterrence and Nonproliferation Regimes,” by Al Mauroni (05/2016)
“Syria’s Toxic War: Chemical Weapons Are Undermining Deterrence and Nonproliferation,” by Rebecca Hersman (04/2016)
“Not Crossing a Red Line: Chlorine Barrel Bombs In Context,” by Al Mauroni (03/2015)
“Extremism and Syria’s Internally Displaced,” by Karen Leigh and Nathaniel Rosenblatt (06 /2014)
“Abstracting War, from Afghanistan to Syria,” by Thomas Gibbons-Neff (02/2014)
“Syrian Refugees & Why Realists Are The Real Ethicists,” by Ryan Evans (12/2013)
“On Buzzfeed and Syria,” by Thomas Gibbons-Neff (09/2013)
“Preparing to Handle Syria’s Chemical Weapons,” by Al Mauroni (08/2013)
“The Game is the Game,” by Sam Abrams (02/2014)
“Beware of Mission Creep in Syria,” by Mark Stout (09/2013)
Sanctions
“What Are America’s Sanctions on Syria Good For?,” by Sam Heller (09/2020)
“New Sanctions on Assad Aim to Prevent Atrocities,” David Adesnik (06/2020)
“Will More Syria Sanctions Hurt the Very Civilians They Aim to Protect?,” by Basma Alloush and Alex Simon (06/2020)
“Regaining Control of the [Rebel] Financing Agenda in Syria,” by Tom Keatinge (01/2014)
The Assad Regime
**Podcast: “Assad’s Party Wins ‘Sham’ Elections in Syria,” with Aron Lund (07/2024)
**Podcast: “Protests Among Syria’s Druze,” with Makram Rabah (08/2023)
“Iran’s Increasingly Decentralized Axis of Resistance,” by Nancy Ezzeddine and Hamidreza Azizi (07/2022).
“The (Last) King of Syria: The Feudalization of Assad’s Rule,” by Nic Grinstead (11/2017)
“What I Got Wrong About Assad’s Military Prospects,” by Faysal Itani (09/2016)
“The Decay of the Syrian Regime is Much Worse Than You Think,” by Tobias Schneider (08/2016)
“Assad or We Burn the Country”: Misreading Sectarianism and the Regime in Syria,” by Emile Hokayem (08/2016)
“What’s Behind Ties Between Assad and India?,” by Kabir Taneja (04/2016)
“A Proud Day for Parliament: The Wisdom of Not Bombing Assad,” (03/2016)
Blowback: How Assad Created His Own Jihadist Enemies by Peter Neumann (03/2014)
“With Friends Like These: Al Qaeda and the Assad Regime,” by Brian Fishman (01/2014)
“Assad and the Melians: A Different View,” by Jack McDonald (08/2013)
The United States and Syria
“In Syria, America Should Be Ruthlessly Focused on the Islamic State,” by Joseph L. Votel and Elizabeth Dent (01/2025).
Podcast: “The U.S. Military Mission in Syria,” with Raphael Cohen and Amos Fox (12/2024).
Podcast: “What’s Next in Syria?” with Christopher Preble, Zack Cooper, and Melanie Marlowe (12/2024)
“U.S. Troops in Syria Are Critical For Multiple Missions: Keep Them On,” by James F. Jeffrey (03/2024)
“Leave Syria, Keep Fighting the Islamic State,” by Thanassis Cambanis (02/2024)
**Podcast: “U.S. Debates How to Withdraw From Syria,” with Amberin Zama (01/2024)
**Podcast: “U.S. Air Force Downs Turkish Drone Over Syria,” with Aaron Stein (10/2023)
“At the Seam of Three Regions: The Case for More Basing and Access in Greece and Cyprus,” by Aaron Stein (07/2022)
“Redefining Victory in America’s War Against the Islamic State in Syria,” by Sam Heller (01/2021)
“What Syria Ought to Teach America About Competition with Russia,” by Aaron Stein (03/2020)
“What America Can Learn From its Mistakes in Syria,” by Daphne McCurdy (02/2020)
“On the Syria Debate, Reductio ad Trumpium Gets us Nowhere,” by Jeremy Shapiro and Aaron Stein (11/2019)
“U.S. Officials Ignored Trump on Syria and We Are All Paying the Price,” by Aaron Stein (10/2019)
“When Are Exit Strategies Viable?,” by David Kampf (10/2019)
Podcast: “The Sense in Syria’s Senselessness,” with Sam Heller, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, Ryan Evans, and Nick Danforth (10/2019)
Podcast: “Syria: A Sad Tale,” with Tom Karako, Melanie Marlowe, and Christopher Preble (10/2019)
“The Terrible Case for Staying in Syria,” by Benjamin H. Friedman and Justin Logan (05/2019)
“Trump’s Syria Pullout Plan Cannot Win Turkey Back,” by Merve Tahiroglu and Aykan Erdemir (01/2019)
“America’s Almost Withdrawal from Syria,” by Aaron Stein (01/2019)
“Paramilitary Activity: The Unintended Consequences of America’s Undeclared War Against Assad,” by Aaron Stein (12/2018)
“The ‘Adults in the Room’ Need to Take Trump Seriously on Syria,” by Aaron Stein (04/2018)
“America in Search of an Un-Geneva for Syria,” by Sam Heller (01/2018)
“In Defense of Nothing,” by Jeremy Shapiro and Andrew Miller (12/2017)
“A Small-Time U.S. Mission in Syria is a Dangerous Idea,” by Faysal Itani (11/2017)
“Trump and Covert Operations in Syria: A Not-So-Artful Deal,” by Austin Carson and Michael Poznansky (08/2017)
“When It Comes to Syria and the Kurds, Erdogan Will Leave Washington Empty-Handed,” by Aaron Stein (05/2017)
“Evacuation is America’s Moral and Strategic Imperative in Idlib,” by Sam Heller (04/2017)
“No Plan? No Strategy? No Problem! Syria and Why Trump’s Russia Policy Is Off to a Rough Start,” by Michael Kofman (04/2017)
“Trump’s Attack on Syria: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” by Ryan Evans (04/2017)
“Were We Watching the Same Presidency? Obama Was Not A Restrainer,” by Trevor Thrall and John Glaser (03/2017)
“What Trump Should Seek in Syria Negotiations,” by Ilan Goldenberg and Nicholas A. Heras (01/2017)
“This Won’t Look Like Winning: A Sensible Path for Trump’s Syria Policy,” by Sam Heller (12/2016)
“The Syrian Civil War and Avoiding Trump’s First Big Mistake,” by Michael Hanna (11/2016)
“Will Turkey Present Trump with a Fait Accompli in Syria?,” by Aaron Stein (11/2016)
“The Arc of History is Long, But it Bends Toward Bombing Assad,” by Nick Danforth (10/2016)
“Are We All Interventionists Now?,” by Thanassis Cambanis (10/2016)
“Top Cover for American Troops in Syria: A De Facto No-Fly Zone?,” by Ralph S. Clem (08/2016)
“Want to Build a Better Proxy in Syria? Lessons from Tibet,” by Steve Ferenzi (08/2016)
“Washington’s Sunni Myth and the Middle East Undone,” by Cyrus Malik (08/2016)
“Washington’s Sunni Myth and the Civil Wars in Syria and Iraq,” by Cyrus Malik (08/2016)
“The Logic for (Shoddy) U.S. Covert Action in Syria,” by Austin Carson and Michael Poznansky (07/2016)
“Speaking Nonsense to Power: Misadventures in Dissent Over Syria,” by Jeremy Shapiro (06/2016)
“Are CIA-backed Syrian Rebels Really Fighting Pentagon-backed Syrian Rebels?,” by Sam Heller (03/2016)
“The Promise and Peril of Changing U.S. Strategy in Syria,” by Aaron Stein (03/2016)
“High Time for Intervention: The United States Must Invest in Its Partners to Turn Syria Around,” by Dov Friedman (02/2016)
“The Russian Quagmire in Syria and Other Washington Fairy Tales,” by Michael Kofman (02/2016)
“After the Geneva Talks: Re-Setting U.S. Strategy for Western Syria,” by Ilan Goldenberg, Nicholas A. Heras, and Paul Scharre (02/2016)
“Deja Vu? Debating a U.S. Intervention in Syria in 1919,” by Michael S. Neiberg (12/2015)
“Why the U.S. Should Be Paying Attention to Russia’s Latest Strikes in Syria,” by Michael Kofman (11/2015)
“A New Plan for the United States in Syria,” by Ben Jonsson (10/2015)
“Iraq, Syria, and ISIL: Americans Don’t Want BS, But Do They Want Leadership?,” by Bryan McGrath (08/2014)
“Don’t BS the American People About Iraq, Syria, and ISIL,” by Brian Fishman (08/2014)
“Hard Evidence That Obama Has Started Arming Syrian Rebels?,” by Jack Mulcaire (04/2014)
“Thanks, Obama”: Presidential Culpability for the Syrian Civil War?,” by Peter Munson (02/2014)
“Congress on Syria: Down the Same Road Once Again,” by Peter Munson (09/2013)
“Another Way: The Syria Speech the President Should Give,” by Mark Stout (09/2013)
“Syria, Signaling, and Operation Infinite Reach,” by Usha Sahay (09/2013)
“Obama’s Birthday Gift to McCain: War with Syria,” by John Thorne (08/2013)
“Reactions to Looming US Attack on Syria,” by John Amble (08/2013)
“Things to Remember Before Going to War in Syria,” by Ryan Evans (08/2013)
“Attacking Syria, Realism, and Magical Realism,” by Michael Noonan (08/2013)
“The Attack America Deserves, but Not the Attack Syria Needs,” by Ryan Evans (08/2013)
Podcast: “Syria, Secrets, and Some Snark,” with Ryan Evans, Mark Stout, Eli Lake, and Daveed Gartenstein-Ross (08/2013)
“Las Vegas Rules Don’t Apply in Syria,” by John Bew (07/2013)
“To Intervene or Not Intervene in Syria? The Limits of Power Define Interests,” by Jason Fritz (07/2013)
“Indecision on Syria and Europe May Undermine America’s Asia Pivot,” by Sean Kay (07/2013)
“Revolutions are a Tricky Thing: Syria Edition,” by Mark Stout (07/2013)
“In Search of an End-State for Syria, or Not,” by Timothy Hoyt (07/2013)
“Dempsey’s Options on Syria: But What Is the End-State?,” by Ryan Evans (07/2013)
Russia and Syria
**Podcast: “Russia’s Woes in Syria: The Consequences of Assad’s Fall for Russian Ambitions,” with John Lechner and Michael Kofman (12/2024)
**Podcast: “Russia Holds Syria Aid Hostage,” with Mona Yacoubian (07/2023)
“Ukraine’s Consequences Are Finally Spreading to Syria,” by Mona Yacoubian (01/2023)
Podcast: “The Kremlin in Command, Part II: Syria and the First Assault on Ukraine,” with Lawrence Freedman, Michael Kofman, and Ryan Evans (09/2022)
“The Puzzle of Russian Behavior in Deir al-Zour,” by Kimberly Marten (07/2018)
“Not-So-Soft Power: Russia’s Military Police in Syria,” by Mark Galeotti (10/2017)
“The Moscow School of Hard Knocks: Key Pillars of Russian Strategy,” by Michael Kofman (01/2017)
“The Crimean Crisis and Russia’s Military Posture in the Black Sea,” by Michael Kofman (08/2016)
“Russia is in Charge in Syria: How Moscow Took Control of the Battlefield and Negotiating Table,” by Sam Heller (06/2016)
“Moscow’s Mercenaries in Syria,” by Mark Galeotti (04/2016)
“The Three Faces of Russian Spetsnaz in Syria,” by Mark Galeotti (03/2016)
“There is No Russian Withdrawal from Syria,” by Dmitry Gorenburg and Michael Kofman (03/2016)
“Moscow’s Clients from Kabul to Damascus: Strength and Strategy in International Politics,” by Ryan Evans (12/2015)
“Let the Russians Bleed in Syria While We Focus on Containing Jihadists,” by Mike Pietrucha and Jeremy Renken (10/2015)
“The Russian Intervention in Syria: Policy Options and Exit Strategies,” by Michael Kofman (10/2015)
“Russia’s Arsenal in Syria: What Do We Know?,” by Michael Kofman (10/2015)
“Russia’s Counterterrorism Gamble in Syria and the Caucasus,” by Elena Pokalova (10/2015)
“Why Israel Should Be Worried About Russia’s Role in Syria,” by Nadav Pollak (10/2015)
Podcast: “The State of Russian Strategy: Ukraine, Syria, and Beyond,” with Dmitry Gorenburg and Ryan Evans (09/2015)
“How Russia’s Gambit in Syria Changes the Game,” by Michael Kofman (09/2015)
“A Comparative Guide to Russia’s Use of Force: Measure Twice, Invade Once,” by Michael Kofman (02/2017)
Politics and Diplomacy
“In Brief: A New Syrian Government’s Regional Relationships,” with Anna Jacobs, Giorgio Cafiero, Aaron Zelin, Nick Danforth, and Caroline Rose (01/2025)
**Podcast: “Syria Reinstated in Arab League,” with Mona Yacoubian (05/2023)
“The Road to Damascus Is Paved with Good Intentions,” by David Adesnik (08/2021)
**Podcast: “The United Nations Votes on Syria’s Future,” with Mona Yacoubian (06/2021)
“Practical Challenges and Hybrid Hypocrisy: Legal and Policy Dilemmas with the Hybrid Moniker,” by Erica Gaston (01/2021)
“Lost in the Furor Over Syria: Alliances are a Means, not an End,” by Doug Bandow and Christopher Preble (10/2019)
“The Syrians Don’t and Won’t Toe the Iranian Line: Explaining a Most Curious Alliance,” by Kamal Alam (04/2019)
Podcast: “Mayhem and Misadventures in the Middle East,” with Douglas A. Ollivant, Elizabeth Saunders, Ryan Evans, and Nick Danforth (02/2019)
“China’s Foreign Fighters Problem,” by Mathieu Duchâtel (01/2019)
“Kissinger’s Prophecy Fulfilled in Syria,” by Kamal Alam (01/2019)
The Road to Damascus: The Arabs March Back to Befriend Assad by Kamal Alam and David Lesch (12/2018)
“Prisoners of Idlib: Turkey, Russia, America and the Fate of Syria’s Last Opposition Stronghold,” by Aaron Stein (08/2018)
“Syria Strikes: The Politics of Legality and Legitimacy,” by Manuel Lafont Rapnouil (05/2018)
“Between a Rock and Dynamite: American Options in the Face of the Turkish-YPG Crisis,” by Burak Kadercan (04/2018)
“Drawing Down from Incirlik: A Proposal to Improve America’s Strained Relations with Turkey,” by Aaron Stein (02/2018)
“Syria Is Sliding Towards Partition,” by Alexander Bick (11/2017)
“Walking a Thin Rope: The U.S.-Turkey Balancing Act is Becoming Increasingly Untenable,” by Jakob Lindgaard (10/2017)
“Northern Syria’s Anti-Islamic State Coalition Has an Arab Problem,” by Daniel Wilkofsky and Khalid Fatah (09/2017)
“It Didn’t Have to Be This Way: Finding Leverage in Syria,” by Aaron Stein (04/2017)
“De-Conflicting Turkish, Kurdish, and American Aims in Syria,” by Aaron Stein (02/2017)
“What A Syrian Neighborhood Can Teach Us About the Talks to End the Civil War,” by Elizabeth Parker-Magyar and Daniel Wilkofsky (02/2017)
“Kill the Iran Deal or Accommodate Russia? Trump Will Have to Choose,” by Ilan Goldenberg (11/2016)
“Politics, Population, and Hydrocarbons: Preparing for Mosul’s Aftermath,” by H. Akın Ünver (10/2016)
“The Perplexing Problems of Solving Syria,” by Steven A. Cook (10/2016)
“The Misadventures of Russia and the United States in Syria: Complete Strategy Implosion Edition,” by Michael Kofman (10/2016)
“What’s Really At Stake in the Syria Debate,” by Marc Lynch (10/2016)
“A Plan for Winding Down the Syrian Civil War: Surge, Freeze, and Enforce,” by Charles Lister (09/2016)
“What if a U.S.-Russian Deal in Syria Goes Exactly as Planned?,” by Faysal Itani (07/2016)
“Five Reasons Why Cooperating with Moscow on Syria is a Bad Idea,” by Rep. Michael G. Waltz and Lorianne Woodrow Moss (07/2016)
“Brexit’s Roots in the Middle East,” by Jon Alterman (06/2016)
“How Ahrar al-Sham Has Come to Define the Kaleidoscope of the Syrian Civil War,” by Sam Heller (06/2016)
“Syria and the Credible Commitments of World Powers,” by Justin Conrad (03/2016)
“The Syria Ceasefire Plan is a Sign of the Decaying World Order,” by Sen. John McCain (02/2016)
“Dayton’s Lessons for Syria,” by Stefano Recchia (12/2015)
“Walker at Reuters: Preventing World War III in Syria between Turkey and Russia,” by Ryan Evans (11/2015)
“5 Questions with Ambassador James F. Jeffrey on ISIS and Iraq,” by Ambassador James F. Jeffrey and Ryan Evans (06/2014)
“Saudi-Qatari Convergence and Divergence on Iran and Syria,” by Thomas Lynch (04/2014)
“How Does Iran View the Syrian Conflict?,” by Chris Looney (03/2014)
“Sectarian Conflicts: Looking Back from Syria to Europe’s Age of Religious War,” by Mark Konnert (02/2014)
“Let Iran Own Its Syria Policies,” by Afshon Ostovar (02/2014)
“Canada’s Syria Problem,” by John Amble (08/2013)
“An Attack on Syria: Probably Unlawful; Possibly Justifiable,” by Phillip Carter (08/2013)
Image: Mahmoud Bali (VOA) via Wikimedia Commons
