The War in Syria
Channel: New America
Date: 2014-04-01

The War in Syria

With the Syrian crisis entering its fourth year, the New America Foundation's International Security Program is taking stock of current developments in and projected scenarios for ending the crisis. Headlines about Syria have been overwhelmed with details of the battlefield and the more than 9 million people who have been affected by the fighting. The fight between President Bashar Assad's forces and opposition groups has long been stalemated, yet recent battles suggest that Assad is winning the war. But is this really the case? And what do these battlefield successes mean for the future of the country in the absence of a fully functional national government? What about the 2.5 million refugees currently seeking shelter in neighboring countries? How have Syrian citizens responded to the fighting and diplomatic response, or lack thereof? How does the presence of foreign fighters and radical jihadist groups factor into the crisis? And is a reset of U.S. foreign policy towards the crisis in order?
 
To address these issues and more, including the increasing scale of human suffering, New America gathered a number of leading analysts with intimate knowledge of the military, political, and civilian dynamics inside the country.
 
Join the conversation online using #syria4years and following @NatSecNAF.

Participants
Will McCants
Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institution
Director of the Project on U.S.-Islamic Relations, Brookings Institution
 
Nathaniel Rosenblatt
Senior Analyst, Middle East and North Africa, Caerus Associates
Co-Author, Zooming in on Syria: Adapting U.S. Policy to Local Realities
 
Oubai Shahbandar
Senior Adviser, Syrian National Coalition
 
Leila Hilal
Director, Middle East Task Force, New America Foundation
 
Moderator:
Peter Bergen
Director, International Security Program, New America Foundation

http://newamerica.net/events/2014/the_war_in_syria