Syria A Strategic Blunder By United States
By Manish Rai Despite years of diplomacy and a CIA operation to equip and train moderate rebels, the US finds itself without a credible partner on the ground in Syria as it bombs the Islamic State....
View ArticleFall of U.S.-backed Syrian group casts doubt on plan to arm moderates
Rebel fighters in Syria Ahmed Hasan Ubeyd / Anadolu Agency/ Rebel fighters in Handarat, Syria, in October 2014. Al Nusra Front, Al Qaeda's official franchise in Syria, has defeated the U.S.-backed...
View ArticleUS airstrikes in Syria off to rocky start; moderate rebels disenchanted
REYHANLI, Turkey — The U.S.-led air war in Syria has gotten off to a rocky start, with even the Syrian rebel groups closest to the United States turning against it, U.S. ally Turkey refusing to...
View ArticleSyrian rebels angry that airstrikes hit Khorasan but not Bashar Assad
REYHANLI, Turkey — Anti-government media activists and rebel commanders gave a mixed assessment of U.S.-led airstrikes in northern Syria on Tuesday, saying that some of the Islamic State encampments...
View ArticleUS downplays gains in Syria by al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front
AMMAN, Jordan — Al-Qaida-linked fighters have overrun key northern bastions of U.S.-backed Syrian rebels and were menacing a major border crossing Monday, dealing a blow to American hopes that moderate...
View ArticleAl Qaeda’s Killer New Alliance with ISIS
U.S. Airstrikes have helped drive ISIS and al Nusra together, and the Khorasan group is trying to cement the deal. The big losers: everybody else—except Assad. ISTANBUL—Jihadist veterans known...
View ArticleIgnatius: Challenge in Syria: 'Moderate opposition' largely a fantasy
REYHANLI, Turkey As Syrian rebel commander Hamza al-Shamali describes the battle inside Syria, a few miles across the border, the immediate problem isn't defeating the Islamic State. It's coordinating...
View ArticleCivilians killed in Syria airstrikes on Islamic State targets, rebel groups say
IRBIL, Iraq — The video, said to have been shot Tuesday in northwestern Syria, shows Idlib province residents going through motions that have become all too familiar in three years of civil war between...
View ArticleMain U.S.-Backed Syrian Rebel Group Disbanding, Joining Islamists
One of the last moderate Syrian rebel groups trusted by Washington is waving the white flag—and picking up the Islamists’ black one. The Syrian rebel group Harakat al-Hazm, one of the White House’s...
View ArticleU.S. airstrikes hit Islamist extremist groups in Syria
ISTANBUL U.S. aircraft struck al Qaida-linked Islamist forces fighting U.S.-backed moderate rebels Thursday in northern Syria. Activists said the strikes were the first American action since bombing...
View ArticleU.S. airstrikes said to hit 2 Islamist extremist groups in Syria
McClatchy Foreign Staff ISTANBUL — U.S. aircraft struck al Qaida-linked Islamist forces fighting U.S.-backed moderate rebels in northern Syria Thursday. Activists said the strikes were the first...
View ArticleAmerica's Failure — and Russia and Iran's Success — in Syria's Cataclysmic...
To kick off the year, we decided to make this interview publicly available to all readers. We hope you find it insightful and relevant. Enjoy! Joshua Landis is head of the Center for Middle East...
View ArticleAfter A Long Wait, Syrian Rebels Hope The Weapons Will Now Flow
3:44 PM ET Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET. i i Syrian rebel fighters in the northern city of Aleppo in August. The Obama administration...
View ArticleObama Won’t Admit the Real Targets of Russian Airstrikes
The US response to Russia’s new Syrian military campaign in support of the Assad regime has struck a pose of moral superiority by arguing that the Russians have not been targeting the Islamic State but...
View ArticleRebels call for US airstrikes as Islamic State advances near Syrian city
ISTANBUL (Tribune Content Agency) — With Islamic State militants pressing a new military offensive north of Aleppo, moderate rebels pleaded Monday for U.S. intervention to preserve rebel supply routes...
View ArticleRebels call for U.S. airstrikes as Islamic State advances near Aleppo
With Islamic State militants pressing a dramatic new military offensive north of Aleppo, moderate rebels pleaded Monday for U.S. intervention to preserve rebel supply routes and prevent Syria’s biggest...
View ArticleWestern-backed Syrian rebels are in danger of collapse before help arrives
The main al-Qaida affiliate in Syria is extending its control over a swath of territory that was until recently held by the collapsing moderate opposition, jeopardizing U.S. plans to form a new rebel...
View ArticleAl-Qaeda's Patient Approach in Syria May Be Paying Off
Given the Islamic State's PR strategy of grabbing headlines in the most shocking ways, the world's attention is understandably focused on the group's declining fortunes in the region and its growing...
View ArticleModerate Syrian rebels say U.S. airstrikes helped extremists
REYHANLI, Turkey — Two rounds of U.S. airstrikes in northwest Syria since September have destroyed bases and weapons depots linked to the al Qaida-backed Nusra Front, but the more serious damage may...
View ArticleModerate Syrian rebels say U.S. airstrikes helped extremists seize province
REYHANLI, Turkey Two rounds of U.S. airstrikes in northwest Syria since September have destroyed bases and weapons depots linked to the al Qaida-backed Nusra Front, but the more serious damage may have...
View ArticleSyrians say civilians killed in U.S. airstrikes
The video, said to have been shot Tuesday in northwestern Syria, shows Idlib province residents going through motions that have become all too familiar in three years of civil war between...
View ArticleObama’s ‘Moderate’ Syrian Deception
If the tentative agreement on a Syrian ceasefire negotiated by the United States and Russia falls apart before it can be implemented, the reason will be the Obama administration’s insistence that...
View ArticlePresident Obama, who once called the idea of “moderate” Syrian rebels a...
February 17, 2016 "Information Clearing House" - "Consortium News " - If the tentative agreement on a Syrian ceasefire negotiated by the United States and Russia falls apart before it can be...
View ArticleThe US Is In The Midst Of A Full-Scale Strategic Meltdown In Syria
Murad Sezer/ReutersTurkish troops take cover during a skirmish with Kurdish protesters at the border near Kobane For a while there, he had us going. When President Obama announced his long-contemplated...
View ArticleU.S. options in Syria shrivel as Islamists and Assad regime make gains
December 4, 2014 -- Updated 1641 GMT (0041 HKT) A man drives his motorcycle through a puddle in Aleppo, Syria, on Wednesday, November 26. The United Nations estimates more than 190,000 people have been...
View ArticleU.S. airstrikes in Syria meet early trouble
REYHANLI, Turkey — The U.S.-led air war in Syria has gotten off to a rocky start, with even the Syrian rebel groups closest to the United States turning against it, U.S. ally Turkey refusing to...
View Article
