by Giorgio Cafiero In 2013, with support from the American, Afghan, and Qatari governments, the Taliban opened an office in Doha. The office was to serve as a platform to engage the Taliban’s representatives in talks to bring peace to… Continue Reading
by Paul R. Pillar The complicated, multidimensional nature of the Syrian civil war continues to discourage clear thinking in debate about U.S. policy toward Syria. The involvement in the conflict of multiple protagonists who are each anathema to the American… Continue Reading
by Paul R. Pillar Creeping escalation characterizes U.S. military involvement in Syria. What had been fifty American troops on the ground expanded to three hundred beginning last month. Official descriptions of this contingent as not being directly involved in combat… Continue Reading
by Wayne White Regardless of its terrorist spectacles abroad, from Beirut to Paris, the Islamic State (ISIS or IS) continues to lose territory in its Syrian-Iraqi base. Large dollops of US ground forces in roles closer to the fighting are… Continue Reading
by Mark N. Katz Putin shocked the world last September when he sent Russian forces to intervene in Syria. He shocked the world again this week when he announced that he was withdrawing the main part of those forces.