Author Archive
Ideas
America Needs to Take Charge of the ISIS Aftermath
Two years after the fall of the caliphate, the world should not leave this to the SDF.
Ideas
The Mothers Who Fled the Turkish Incursion
Attacks by Turkish-backed forces shattered a hard-won pseudo-normalcy for Syrian women who had lived under ISIS.
Ideas
Syrian Women Helped Find Baghdadi, Beat ISIS, Will Face ‘Tough Time’ Ahead, Leader Says
'We will continue our resistance and our struggle,' says the head of the all-women’s YPJ, in a rare interview.
Threats
Top SDF Commander: Turkey Blocking Kurds’ Retreat; Urges Trump to ‘Stop This War’
“I am asking President Trump right now to fulfill his promise to us and stop this war,” Mazlum Abdi told Defense One by phone.
Ideas
The Syrian Democratic Forces Chief Just Called Me. Here’s What He Said.
“This is going to jeopardize all the achievements we've made with the coalition against ISIS,” said Mazlum Abdi.
Threats
ISIS Is Not Defeated. Pulling US Troops From Syria Would Jeopardize Everything
I just returned from my fifth trip to Northeast Syria in 18 months. If the US quits now, there are four winners: ISIS, Assad, Russia, and Iran.
Ideas
Women Rise as Raqqa Rebuilds Without the World’s Help
Local women and local security are reawakening the Syrian city, with few Americans in sight.
Ideas
Arab Women in Syria, Inspired by Kurdish Sisters, Join the Fight — and the Movement
"There is no difference between us and them, we are both women. What is really important now is women are having a role."
Ideas
Inside The World's Most Radical Experiment in Women’s Rights
The women’s movement in northern Syria is more like a women’s earthquake, in politics, governance, and the region's security.
Ideas
Four New Questions For Trump on Syria
The ISIS fight is nearly over, military leaders say. Is the United States ready to lead what happens next?
Threats
‘I Want to Finish This’: US Special Ops Leaders Urge Washington to Stick by the Syrian Kurds
Commanders inside Syria say rebels are doing all they hoped for — and are the best shot to break the region's cycle of terrorism.
Featured eBooks
Ideas
The Next Battle: State Department, US Military Divided Over Kurdish Fighters In Syria (And Russia)
Frustrated sources on the ground say the State Department is struggling to get behind the Syrian Kurds and the U.S. military would struggle to proceed without them. As for Russia, well...
Ideas
Calm Your Russia War Drums Over This ‘Deconfliction Line’
Yes, the fight is hotter. But we were told this was coming, US and Russian leaders are deconflicting aplenty, and nobody wants war.
Ideas
Mattis’s Afghanistan War Plan: Be Patient, Convince Everyone
Roll back the Taliban. Tackle ISIS. Win over Washington. Build Afghan forces. Seek support from the American public. Sound familiar?
Ideas
The Longest War Fades Even at NATO
Cameras focused on Trump, but war commanders in Afghanistan wanted more troops from NATO, not promises.
Ideas
And So It Begins: Trump, Syria, and The Lessons of Iraq
With recent 'warning shot' at Assad, the US is trying to avoid escalation in Syria, not stoke it, sources say.
Ideas
So Trump Is Arming Kurds...Then What?
Trump’s latest decision orders more US military intervention than Obama wanted. The more Americans and allies fight this war, the more they deserve a plan for the peace.
Ideas
How Will Trump Get Us From Tomahawks to the Peace Table?
Trump called for an end to Syrian bloodshed. Tillerson was unprepared in Moscow to say how. But all roads still lead through Geneva.
Ideas
‘It Was High Time’
The right move, if the wrong president, for Obama's internal critics who wanted air strikes in Syria for three years.
Ideas
The Marine Photo Scandal and the Cost of Indifference
Americans may finally be ready to confront the dehumanizing horrors facing women service members.
