Last week’s U.N. General Assembly session served up reminders that the next White House may have little option but to deal with a number of crises previously deferred
Turkey
Despite Syria’s Bloodbath, Libya-Style Intervention Remains Unlikely
Besides growing reservations about the dynamic on the ground in Syria, last week’s killings at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi have raised new questions about Libya as a model for intervention
Syria’s Secular and Islamist Rebels: Who Are the Saudis and the Qataris Arming?
Out of Istanbul, the two Gulf states play a game of conflicting favorites that is getting in the way creating a unified rebel force to topple the Assad regime
Is the Regional Showdown in Syria Rekindling Iraq’s Civil War?
It may have been checked off President Obama’s to-do list, but the Iraq war is far from over.
Dissent Among the Alawites: Syria’s Ruling Sect Does Not Speak with One Voice
Considered heretics by many mainstream Sunnis, the Alawites have long been perceived as a solid bloc of support for their co-religionists in the Assad dynasty. Not so now
As Syrian Conflict Rages, France Examines Potential Terrorism Risks
French security officials reveal to TIME evidence of aspiring militants leaving France for Syria to join Islamists battling the Assad regime — and warn the Middle Eastern country could join Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen as a …
Five Reasons Why the Assad Regime Survives
Syria’s conflict has morphed into a civil war whose fault lines and consequences are quite different from other Arab rebellions
How the Kurds Have Changed Turkey’s Calculations on Syria
Support for the anti-Assad rebellion has been complicated by Syria’s Kurds moving to establish autonomy, raising Ankara’s fears about implications for Turkey’s domestic Kurdish challenge
By Ceding Northeastern Syria to the Kurds, Assad Puts Turkey in a Bind
Ankara has been a key backer of Syria’s rebellion, but the prospect of an Iraq-style autonomous Kurdish zone has Erdogan threatening to intervene
As Aleppo Braces for a Bloodbath, Syria’s Regime is Far From Beaten
Rebel attacks on Syria’s two key cities had raised expectations that Assad was about to fall, but those may have been the Syrian equivalent to Vietnam’s Tet Offensive
Must-Reads from Around the World, June 29, 2012
Today’s picks: Germany and the E.U.’s crunch summit, the U.S.’s Iranian oil sanctions and Hong Kong’s handover birthday looms.
Can the U.S. and Russia Agree on How to End Syria’s War?
A conference chaired by U.N. peace envoy Kofi Annan in Geneva aims to bring some resolution and peace to the bloody Syrian conflict. But regional geo-politics will get in the way.
Military Intervention Still Unlikely After Syria Shoots Down Turkish Jet
After shooting down a Turkish jet flying in international airspace, the embattled Syrian regime is sticking to its guns. But Turkey, Syria’s infuriated neighbor, and the rest of the international community are not likely to …