Ideas
Seven Dubious Arguments for Not Fighting Assad
Intervention may not be the right choice. But we should at least be clear about what we are—and aren’t—debating.
Ideas
Easy There, Blob. With Obama, We Faced A Different Syria
Four years ago, everything was different in Syria. I support these strikes, but two of our worries remain the same: escalation and loss of control.
Threats
Here’s What US Missiles Hit At the Syrian Airbase
And why Shayrat Airfield’s runways weren’t one of the targets.
Science & Tech
Can US Warplanes Evade Russian Air Defenses? We May Soon Find Out in Syria
If things go south, high-end American fighters may take on top-of-the-line Russian anti-aircraft missiles.
Business
The US Is About to Stop Buying Tomahawk Missiles, Like the Ones That Hit Syria
But it’s planning to upgrade its existing stock — and lay the groundwork for a next-generation cruise missile.
Ideas
Seven Disturbing Implications of Trump's Syria Strike
The attack raises a series of questions about the president’s approach to America’s political processes and institutions.
Ideas
Counterpoint: Trump’s Syria Strike Was Unconstitutional and Unwise
The military intervention solved nothing, while bypassing Congress, betraying the president’s non-interventionist supporters, and highlighting his hypocrisy.
Ideas
The Obama Doctrine, R.I.P.
Under pressure to respond to Assad’s use of chemical weapons, Trump reached for the same playbook that his predecessor resisted opening.
Ideas
America Should Have Hit Assad Four Years Ago
When dealing with mass killing, deterrence is more effective than disarmament.
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.
Threats
The Fight Against the Islamic State Just Got Harder
Initial thoughts on the Trump administration’s new front in the Syrian war.
Science & Tech
The Sarin Gas Attack In Syria Ignited an Information Battle
Victims quickly took to social media to distribute evidence of the use of chemical weapons.
Threats
US Hits Syrian Airbase With Scores of Cruise Missiles
A retaliation for the Assad regime's April 4 use of chemical weapons, the strike deepens the U.S. involvement in Syria's civil war.
Threats
The US Was Already Fighting in Syria
It has targeted ISIS and other terrorist groups, not the Assad regime—though that might change soon.
Ideas
Is Assad Using Sarin Gas?
If so, Tuesday's atrocity in Syria was only the fourth time the poison has been used as a weapon — so far.
Ideas
How Should the US Respond to Assad's Chemical Attacks?
Military intervention—even for the best moral reasons—always has unpredictable consequences.
Threats
UN Report Alleges Syrian War Crimes in Aleppo, Rebutting Russian Denials
The document backs up open-source and think-tank reporting on the Assad regime’s use of chlorine gas.
Ideas
At the Oscars: Syrians, White Helmets, and Migrants Lead Picture Nominees
Four films at the Academy Awards might interest you: '4.1 Miles,' 'Watani: My Homeland,' 'The White Helmets,' and 'Fire at Sea.'
Ideas