Threats
Mother of Kidnapped Journalist Sotloff Pleads to Baghdadi for Son’s Life
As the fate of kidnapped Americans complicates the U.S. fight against the Islamic State, Shirley Sotloff tells its leader her son is an innocent. By Kevin Baron
Threats
The Problem With Bombing the Islamic State in Syria
For all the problems with intervening militarily in Iraq, every one of them pale next to the problems of doing so in Syria. By Peter Beinart
Ideas
Obama Insiders Frustrated Over Reluctance to Attack Syria and Iraq
The rise of the Islamic State group was not inevitable and the deaths they are causing could have been prevented. By Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Threats
When Fleeing War Is Illegal
Palestinians escaping Syria are being turned away by neighboring states, much like Iraq's Palestinians shortly after 2003. But relief today doesn't look like it did then. By Alice Su
Threats
Snowden Says the NSA Shut Down Syria's Internet
In a new interview, the fugitive leaker claims the NSA inadvertently took down Syria’s Internet during its prolonged civil war. By Dustin Volz
Threats
Will the Syrian Torture Photos Compel Congress to Act?
Just before the August recess, House lawmakers recoiled in horror at a Syrian defector's photos of more than 10,000 victims of Assad's bloody civil war. By Jordain Carney
Threats
The Number of Foreign Fighters in Syria Now Exceeds 12,000 and Rising
Syria is now the ‘predominant battleground for extremists‘ plotting Western attacks as foreign fighters increase 50 percent since April, says U.S. counterterrorism director. By Kevin Baron
Threats
Ignoring Syria in Favor of Everything Else
Conflict after conflict has stolen the spotlight from Syria's bloody civil war. Do Syrian deaths no longer matter? By Jeffrey Goldberg
Threats
Surge in Western Fighters to Iraq and Syria Continues to Grow
The number of foreign fighters flocking to the battlefields of Syria and Iraq have increased by a third since February, and looks poised to keep growing. By Global Security Newswire
Threats
ISIL and the Lesser Evil of Bashar al-Assad
As ISIL tears through Iraq, Syria's Assad has strengthened his alliances with Baghdad, Iran, Hezbollah, and Russia. Could the U.S. be next? By Dominic Tierney
Threats
'Compromise' May Return Chemical Weapons Facilities Back to Assad
Officials in Washington are nervous over a proposal to return some of Syria's underground chemical weapons facilities back to the Assad regime. By Diane Barnes
Threats
U.N. Says Syria Found More Chemical Weapons
International authorities confirmed sarin had been found in 'abandoned' containers the Assad regime says were located in rebel-held territory. By Global Security Newswire
Ideas
‘You Have to Kill Them’ Says Former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq
America can ‘twiddle our thumbs’ no longer, say former U.S. ambassadors in the region. By Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Ideas
U.S. Power and the Future of Arab Democracy
From the Aspen Ideas Festival, how can we get to a political solution in the Middle East without the credible use of force? By J.J. Gould
Threats
Obama Asks Congress for $500 Million to Train Syrian Rebels
The president delivered on a promise he made during his foreign policy speech at West Point in May -- when the situation in Iraq looked very different than it does today. By Kaveh Waddell
Threats
Islamic Extremists Are Stepping Up Their Recruiting Efforts
Extremists are leveraging recent military gains in Iraq and Syria to get new recruits from Western countries and elsewhere. By Global Security Newswire
Threats
Are the Saudis to Blame for Iraq?
U.S. lawmakers encouraged officials in Riyadh to arm Syrian rebels. Now that strategy may have created a monster in the Middle East. By Steve Clemons
Threats
The Last of Assad's Known Chemical Weapons Are Now Out of Syria
After multiple missed deadlines, some 1,300 tons of declared chemical weapons have finally been removed from the deeply troubled nation, but questions remain about whether that was really all of it. By Diane Barnes
Ideas
A Victory in the Battle Against Mass Destruction
There are still plenty of things to be worried about, but one thing is clear: securing and destroying Syria's known chemical weapons stockpile was a major victory. By Joseph Cirincione and Geoffrey Wilson.
Science & Tech