The Silver Lining of Trump’s Syria Withdrawal
Reading Time: 5 minutes Trump’s move to pull out of Syria has been called a surrender and a betrayal of allies. Yet it may increase American leverage in an extremely messy situation.
Trump’s Decision to Abandon US Allies in Syria: More Than Meets the Eye
Reading Time: 2 minutes Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria, which has stunned friends and foes alike, brought attention to strategic American vulnerabilities on the ground.
Does Turkey Think Trump’s Resolve in Syria is Weakening?
Reading Time: 2 minutes Social media went abuzz Friday with videos of US and Syrian Kurdish forces jointly patrolling the Syrian-Turkish border.Reports in the Wall Street Journal and other media subsequently confirmed the patrols. This is the second time this year that US troops have moved in to block an anticipated Turkish attack on Kurds, who are spearheading the Read More
An Explosive Situation Is Brewing in Turkey
Reading Time: 5 minutes Turks against Kurds, ISIS against Kurds, Russia against ISIS, Turkey against Russia — who will be the winner? And how will it affect the rest of the world?
The Radical Experiment in Democracy That Defeated the Islamic State in Syria
Reading Time: 4 minutes The American allies that beat back a five-month Islamic State onslaught on the Syria-Turkey border are running a bold experiment in democracy started by … terrorists. From Istanbul, Victor Kotsev examines the Kurdish warrior-democrats doing Washington’s heavy lifting.
Is America Helping Al Qaeda Take Over Syria?
Reading Time: 10 minutes The United States and its allies have been so eager to remove the Assad regime in Syria that they’ve enabled some extreme elements to move into the void. Could the Western strategy in Syria result in the displacement of a secular regime with elements of Al Qaeda?
For Hayward, BP Stands for “Back in Play”
Reading Time: 5 minutes Tony Hayward, the former BP chief whose push for ever greater profits led to lowering safety standards and the destruction of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, is back with a new, smaller venture, and some interesting partners.
Syria: We Can Learn a Lot From the “Small Stuff”
Reading Time: 6 minutes Really interesting material on Syria flies by, largely unnoticed and unremarked upon. Here’s a grab bag of potentially consequential items from the past couple of months.