The Syrian Crisis: Enter Lebanon

by Wayne White Reacting to several recent developments in the Syrian war, Lebanon’s Hezbollah organization has escalated dramatically its direct military role in that fighting. This is Hezbollah’s first major foray on the ground into a conflict inside another country,… Continue Reading

Assad May Not Be Key to Iran’s Levantine Reach: A Critique of AEI-ISW Report

by Aurélie M. Daher That Iran is deeply concerned with the civil war in Syria and is currently providing important assistance to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is not in question. What remains to be determined, however, is the form that its… Continue Reading

Syria: Pressure for US Military Action Rising Ominously

by Wayne White A sampling of the May 5 American Sunday talk shows demonstrated graphically the intense pressure mounting on the White House to move forward with potentially risky military options aimed at hastening the end of the crisis in… Continue Reading

President Obama: Keep Your Nerve on Syria

by Robert E. Hunter “Then we’ll have done all we can.” “Very heartless.” “It’s safer to be heartless than mindless. History is the triumph of the heartless over the mindless.” Yes, Prime Minister. President Barack Obama, it is said, has… Continue Reading

NATO’s Arms to Syria Conundrum

Amidst UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi’s attempts to achieve a temporary Syrian ceasefire, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week announced a boost in American non-lethal assistance to the Syrian rebels.  Meanwhile, Russian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Nikolai Makarov declared… Continue Reading