Syria

Syria: a plan to name and shame chemical weapons suspects
Syria: a plan to name and shame chemical weapons suspects
Last month, France hosted the launch of the International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons. The effort is aimed at holding to account individuals…
Shot down over Syria
Shot down over Syria
The downing of a Russian Su-25 aircraft this week marks the second aircraft lost to MANPADS surface-to-air missiles in six weeks. At the end of December, militants shot down …
Washington's weak hand to play in Syria
Washington's weak hand to play in Syria
With the change of administration in Washington came new clarity about US policy on Syria. The admirable, short-term aim was to defeat ISIS. The Syrian Democratic…
Putin’s ‘Mission Accomplished’ moment
Putin’s ‘Mission Accomplished’ moment
Politicians have a track record of declaring military victory before it is achieved. Think the 'Mission Accomplished' banner unfurled behind George W. Bush aboard the…
Russia is not really withdrawing from Syria
Russia is not really withdrawing from Syria
Russian President Vladimir Putin was reported this week to have ordered Russian military chiefs to redeploy ‘most’ of Russia’s Syria contingent back home…
Russia in Syria: A course strewn with obstacles
Russia in Syria: A course strewn with obstacles
Having vanquished Syria’s rebels militarily, Russia now faces the challenge of reconstructing a durable Syrian state. To convert military victory into a lasting political…
Kurds aren’t always the good guys
Kurds aren’t always the good guys
I have written recently about the recklessness of Kurdish leaders in staging their independence referendum. Rather than advance the Kurdish cause, it has probably set it back…
Iraq, the Kurds, and the mess America has made
Iraq, the Kurds, and the mess America has made
Tensions between the Iraqi military and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are once again threatening to boil over. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered the military to …
Syria: Five stages of grief (part 2)
Syria: Five stages of grief (part 2)
Part 1 in this series described the changing mood in Syria towards acceptance of an eventual victory for the Assad regime. This post examines how the practicalities of re…
Syria: The five stages of grief (part 1)
Syria: The five stages of grief (part 1)
Many people will be familiar with the oft-quoted five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. After my most recent research trip to the Middle East,…