Jarabulus: Another Escalation in the War between Turkey and the Kurds

by Robert Olson On August 24, Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield, an attack on the Islamic State (IS) stronghold of Jarabulus, a small town located on the Turkish-Syrian. While Turkey has had troops on the Syrian side of the border… Continue Reading

New Gestures to Opposition Unlikely to Change U.S. Syria Policy

by Jim Lobe* Despite new gestures of support for the Syrian opposition, the administration of President Barack Obama is unlikely to change its longstanding policy of restraining U.S. involvement in the country’s more than three-year-old civil war, according to experts… Continue Reading

Syria: Grim Realities and Short Memories

by Wayne White The remorseless death toll and Assad regime gains in Syria have generated intense criticism in Washington of US policy toward the country. Other observers have also taken up this meme, often claiming the regime would have fallen… Continue Reading

Amidst CW Disarmament, No Pause in Syrian Fighting

by Wayne White Most international attention remains focused on locating, inspecting and destroying Syria’s chemical weapons (CW) arsenal, but the bloody conventional civil war rages on. The process of getting rid of Syria’s CW probably will take at least until… Continue Reading