Syria: How to move forward in 2014
The past year was pivotal for Syria. As
President Bashar al-Assad fought to control the country’s future, rebel
groups splintered and the West looked for diplomatic options in an
increasingly complicated conflict.
Earlier this month, career diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to the Middle East Ryan C. Crocker told
Takeaway partner The New York Times that “we need to start talking to
the Assad regime again” and that Assad’s continuing regime is “the least worst option.”
Mona Yacoubian, senior advisor for the Stimson Center’s
Middle East Program and project director for the Pathways to Progress:
Peace, Prosperity and Change in the Middle East initiative, reflects on
the Syrian conflict in 2013 and looks forward to how the U.S. should
move forward in 2014. While she believes that maintaining the Assad
regime will destabilize the Middle East, in terms of Western interests,
the Syrian conflict is pivoting away from assisting a democratic
uprising and toward a counterterrorism mission.
To listen to the interview, click here.