Syria

The World's Most Dangerous Borders

Thirteen places you don't want to be stuck at.

BY PHILIP WALKER | JUNE 24, 2011

The Cynical Dairy Farmer's Guide to the New Middle East

How a couple of cows explain a changing region: equal opportunity offender edition.

BY KARIM SADJADPOUR | JUNE 15, 2011

Underground and in the Closet

The state of the gay Middle East.

BY DAVID KENNER | JUNE 15, 2011

The Dark Closet

Don’t let the Amina hoax distract attention from the plight of the real gay community in Syria.

BY AHMED DANNY RAMADAN | JUNE 14, 2011

Obama Can Stop the Killing in Syria

The United States has leverage with the murderous Bashar al-Assad; it has simply chosen not to use it.

BY TONY BADRAN | JUNE 14, 2011

Straight Guy in Scotland

What the "Gay Girl in Damascus" hoax tells us about ourselves and the media in the era of the Arab Spring.

BY DAVID KENNER | JUNE 13, 2011

The Fall of the House of Assad

It's too late for the Syrian regime to save itself.

BY ROBIN YASSIN-KASSAB | JUNE 10, 2011

It's Their Country, Too

Children on the increasingly violent frontlines of the Arab Spring face an unknown future for themselves and their countries.

MAY 27, 2011

The Middle East Crisis That Just Won't Go Away

Barack Obama may think that Israel and Palestine alone can end their decades of conflict, but the Arab Spring has changed the contours of any potential negotiations.

BY SALMAN SHAIKH | MAY 20, 2011

Syria in Splinters

Even from the streets of Damascus, it's hard to tell whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or the country's determined opposition is winning the battle for the silent majority.

MAY 16, 2011

The Arab Spring Comes to Israel

Thousands of Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops during protests marking the anniversary of Israel's founding.

MAY 16, 2011

Syria's Refugees from Terror

In a small Lebanese village just beyond the Syrian border, those fleeing the regime's crackdown tell of terror and oppression back home.

BY HANIN GHADDAR | MAY 13, 2011

Too Big to Fail?

Is Syria's repressive dictatorship really so crucial to Mideast peace and stability that we can't let it fail? The Obama administration still seems to think so.

BY AARON DAVID MILLER | MAY 12, 2011

Who’s Who in the Syrian Opposition

Meet the brave souls who dare to stand up to the guns of Bashar al-Assad.

BY DAVID KENNER | APRIL 29, 2011

Hope Dies Last in Damascus

Will Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown on his citizens finally put an end to a decade of wishful thinking about the Syrian president?

BY JAMES TRAUB | APRIL 29, 2011

How America Must Respond to the Massacre in Syria

It’s time for President Obama to back up his rhetoric with firm action. The first step: Recall the U.S. ambassador from Damascus.

BY MARCO RUBIO | APRIL 28, 2011

Syriana

After Bashar al-Assad, the deluge.

BY ROBERT D. KAPLAN | APRIL 21, 2011

Twisting Assad's Arm

U.S. diplomats are always complaining they have no leverage over Syria. They're wrong.

BY ANDREW J. TABLER | APRIL 14, 2011

Assad's Survival Strategy

The Syrian president is relying on a blend of repression, promises of reform, and anxiety about what comes next to defuse an unexpected challenge to his rule.

BY GARY GAMBILL | APRIL 6, 2011

A Decade of Wishful Thinking

Western policymakers and pundits tried for years to convince themselves that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was a reformer. He's not.

APRIL 4, 2011

Stiff Upper Lip

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have shaved off his mustache, but it's going to take a whole lot more than that to convince the world that he's not a dictator. FP investigates the whiskers that autocrats wear.

BY CHARLES HOMANS | MARCH 30, 2011

The Syrian Time Bomb

Forget Libya. Washington should pay closer attention to the violent protests imperiling the Assad regime in Damascus. If there's one country where unrest could truly set the Middle East alight, it's Syria.

BY PATRICK SEALE | MARCH 28, 2011

The Myth of the Useful Dictator

In propping up autocrats in countries like Yemen and Bahrain, the United States has long weighed its interests against its principles. Is it a false choice?

BY JAMES TRAUB | MARCH 18, 2011

The Revolution Reaches Damascus

Recent protests in Syria show that the Assad regime is just as vulnerable to popular rage as the region's other autocracies.

BY FOREIGN POLICY | MARCH 18, 2011

The LWOT: Gunman kills two U.S. Airmen at Frankfurt Airport; Two NJ men plead guilty to attempting to join al-Shabaab

Foreign Policy and the New America Foundation bring you a twice weekly brief on the legal war on terror. You can read it on foreignpolicy.com or get it delivered directly to your inbox -- just sign up here.

BY ANDREW LEBOVICH | MARCH 4, 2011

Troubled Engagement

The United States has an ambassador in Syria for the first time in nearly six years. Now what?

BY ANDREW J. TABLER | JANUARY 25, 2011

The Post-Tunisia World

Last week's upheaval showed that citizens of the Arab world are willing and able to overthrow their dictators -- and the Obama administration has to figure out how it will respond when they do.

BY JAMES TRAUB | JANUARY 21, 2011

Planet Gulag

The world has many Liu Xiaobos. Here are 15 who matter.

TEXT BY FREEDOM HOUSE | DECEMBER 9, 2010

How Lebanon Was Lost

A former U.S. ally under Bush's Freedom Agenda, the country is now being neglected in the name of "engagement" with Syria -- and the results could be disastrous.

BY JAMES TRAUB | OCTOBER 8, 2010

What Do Red Teams Really Do?

Mark Perry paints a misleading portrait of how the U.S. government thinks of Hezbollah and Hamas.

BY BILAL Y. SAAB | SEPTEMBER 3, 2010