by Paul R. Pillar Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appears to be trying to follow the sound advice of Ted Galen Carpenter in letting Russia take primary responsibility for handling the tar baby known as Syria. Tillerson reportedly told United… Continue Reading
by Emile Nakhleh The Saudi-Abu Dhabi aggressive siege of Qatar has gone beyond a mere tribal feud pitting the de facto Saudi ruler Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud and the UAE Crown Prince Muhammad bin Zayed Al Nuhayyan against Tamim… Continue Reading
by Paul R. Pillar Six years into one of the most complex, many-sided civil wars in modern times, Syria has almost no chance of being made whole any time in the foreseeable future. The Assad regime, aided by allies, has… Continue Reading
by Shireen T. Hunter During his Middle East trip, President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to pursue an ambitious list of objectives. Paramount among these is to strengthen regional cooperation in defeating the Islamic State (ISIS or IS) and Islamist… Continue Reading
by Shemuel Meir At the end of April 2017, the French foreign minister published a French intelligence report that concluded with a high degree of certainty that Assad used the deadly nerve gas sarin in the Syrian air force’s chemical weapons… Continue Reading