The sad tragedy of US President Donald Trump’s precipitous decision to suddenly abandon the Kurds of northern Syria is that it may have been inevitable. Turkey had long warned the Americans that it viscerally opposed its partnership with the People’s Protection Units (YGP) — a Syrian Kurdish...
The politics of Idlib are extremely complicated, particularly with respect to outside powers that have vested interests in the outcome of the fight for the province. The delicate balance of power in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib appears unsustainable and, to say the least, it is...
Donald Trump’s Syria “policy” has been largely reactionary and too reliant upon military force, ignoring opportunities to negotiate an end to the war. On April 13, US President Donald Trump authorized what he called a “perfectly executed strike” against Syrian President Bashar...
For all of President Trump’s bombastic threats, the actual attack made no effort to damage Assad’s grip on power or to tilt the balance in the civil war. The recent allied attack against Syria was a deliberately crafted gesture which amounted to no more than a statement that the use of...
The possibility of airstrikes against Syria demonstrates yet again how policy undermines military strategy. On April 12, Britain’s emergency “war cabinet” sat to deliberate airstrikes against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria as a response to yet another chemical attack...
Both Iran and Saudi Arabia embarking on economic transformation of their respective economies will benefit not just their own citizens but the wider region as well. Notwithstanding the entrenched animosity between bitter rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, it is possible that Iranian regional...
In this edition of The Interview, Fair Observer talks to the former US ambassador in Syria, Robert Ford. Robert Ford served as the US ambassador to Syria between 2011 and 2014, an appointee of the Obama administration. Ford was criticized for his belief that working with the Syrian rebels would...
Many countries are courting the Syrian government now that the civil war seems almost over. The behind-the-scene actions to settle the Syrian conflict are beginning to emerge in the open. The course of the crisis appears to be shifting not only between the Syrian government, but also with other...
Climate change is creating preconditions in Egypt that precipitated the Syrian Civil War. The Nile Delta, home to 40 million people and source of two-thirds of Egypt’s food production, is disappearing. This is a direct result of climate change and rising sea levels. The Delta, about the size...
Jordan’s unsecured borders pose a threat of even further chaos in the Middle East. Six years into the Syrian Civil War, Russia and Syria have spread their special operation forces to Syria’s southern border with Jordan in an attempt to stop any sudden deployment of US or allied troops. This...
