American intelligence has become too dependent on data analytics and supercomputers, which are as good as useless in Aleppo
Syria
How Islamist Rebels in Syria Are Ruling a Fallen Provincial Capital
Raqqa city was once firmly in the hands of the Assad regime, but it fell within a week to a rebel assault. Now, the city’s new Islamist rulers must figure out how hard they should push their ideology
The Destruction of a Nation: Syria’s War Revealed in Satellite Imagery
Two years ago, joining a crescendo of protest around the Arab world, Syrians launched a peaceful uprising against the autocratic rule of Syrian President Bashar Assad. That dissent—met by a brutal government crackdown—has …
France May Aid Syrian Rebels Unilaterally If EU Doesn’t Lift Arms Embargo
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said March 14 Paris may begin supplying arms to anti-Assad rebels if partners don’t respond to a Franco-British appeal to lift the embargo.
Syria’s Many Militias: Inside the Chaos of the Anti-Assad Rebellion
The chief of the Syrian rebels’ new Military Command faces a tough task not simply coordinating a war against the Assad regime, but controlling the patchwork of militant groups and rebel outfits that make up his fighting force.
U.S. Steps Up Aid, but Syria’s Rebels Want Arms
It should come as no surprise that Syria’s rebels were underwhelmed by Thursday’s U.S. pledge of $60 million in direct aid: although the announcement by Secretary of State John Kerry in Rome marked Washington’s first direct …
Portrait of a Lady: A Female Syrian Rebel Speaks to TIME
Em Joseph doesn’t really look like many of the women in this socially conservative stretch of Syria‘s Idlib province, and she certainly doesn’t act like them. Instead of the traditional hijab, or headscarf, worn by women in …
Assad’s Big Ally: How Deeply Entrenched Is Iran in Syria?
Though Syria will not be discussed when the West and Iran sit down for nuclear talks, it is likely to be part of the unresolved calculus of power in the region
The Missing Journalists of Syria’s War: The Struggle to Save Those Who Bear Witness
Michael Foley just wants his brother back. James Foley, known as “Jim,” is an American freelance reporter who has been unaccounted for inside Syria since November. On Thanksgiving Day, the Foleys were told that James, 39, and …
On Patrol in Syria with Assad’s Most Diligent Enemies
Among the diverse and disparate groups battling the regime, the Farouq Brigades have established a reputation for discipline and efficiency
Syria’s Proxy Wars: In Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, the Specter of Conflict Looms
Lebanon is a minefield of potential flashpoints. But few hold as much possibility for serious violence as the northern Bekaa.
The Art of War: Syria’s Artists Find Pain and Fame on the Front Lines
Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss projected onto a bullet-pocked wall in Damascus. Goya’s iconic execution squad from Third of May 1808 superimposed onto a bombed-out alley. Matisse’s nudes from The Dance skipping over rubble. When …
Ground War: Syria’s Rebels Prepare to Take a Province from Assad
It was pomegranate season when the battle for Wadi Deif began in mid-October. Like so many rebel offensives, the fight for the Syrian military base, just east of the devastated city of Maaret Numan and one of the last major …