Next Steps in Syria

by Judith S. Yaphe

About the Author
Dr. Judith S. Yaphe is a Distinguished

Research Fellow in the Center for
Strategic Research, Institute for
National Strategic Studies, at the 
National Defense University

Nearly 3 years since the start of the Syrian civil war, no clear winner is in sight. Assassinations and defections of civilian and military loyalists close to President Bashar al-Asad, rebel success in parts of Aleppo and other key towns, and the spread of violence to Damascus itself suggest that the regime is losing ground to its opposition. The tenacity of government forces in retaking territory lost to rebel factions, such as the key town of Qusayr, and attacks on Turkish and Lebanese military targets indicate, however, that the regime can win because of superior military equipment, especially airpower and missiles, and help from Iran and Hizballah. No one is prepared to confidently predict when the regime will collapse or if its opponents can win

Nearly 3 years since the start of the Syrian civil war, no clear winner is in sight. Assassinations and defections of civilian and military loyalists close to President Bashar al-Asad, rebel success in parts of Aleppo and other key towns, and the spread of violence to Damascus itself suggest that the regime is losing ground to its opposition.

Transitional Justice for Syria

by Nicholas Rostow

About the Author: Dr. Nicholas Rostow is Distinguished 

Research Professor and Senior Director in the Center for Strategic 

Research, Institute for National Strategic Studies, at the National 

Defense University. He also is a Senior Research Scholar at the Yale Law School

Transitional justice is the provision of justice in the transition from one form of government, often perceived as illegitimate, unjust, and tyrannical, or an anarchic society, to one that observes the rule of law and  administers justice. It also is about choices: how to allocate scarce prosecutorial,  judicial, police, and prison resources. The goal is to make the rule of law ordinary.  A 2004 report of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General on the rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and postconflict societies observed that most examples of transitional justice involved states emerging from civil war or widespread civil unrest such that government became impossible