Along with no-fly zone plans, the White House is considering arming parts of the Syrian opposition and formally recognizing the Syrian opposition council, reports Josh Rogin. The White House has asked the Pentagon to draw up plans for a no-fly zone inside Syria that would be enforced by...

This piece is part of " Obama and the Middle East: Act Two ," a series of policy proposals for the president's second term by Washington Institute fellows. The Assad regime's brutal suppression of the Syrian uprising has spurred a humanitarian disaster, with the United Nations now...

 Awakened by the sound of gunfire, Ahmad could hear the armed men knocking on his brother's door, shouting insults and calling the family "dogs". Ahmad's sister-in-law said the gunmen told her husband to "bow to your god, Bashar" -- the Syrian president. She and her husband and...

Russia and Iran will be keen to see Bashar al-Assad step down as soon as his seven-year term is up in 2014,  according  to  Professor Fawaz Gerges , the director of the Middle East centre at the London School of Economics. He said that the way Russia and the United States...